[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 140 (Thursday, October 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H8811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Jones] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, as an American citizen concerned about our 
Nation's children and as a member of the Missing and Exploited 
Children's Caucus, I have always admired the work of the National 
Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This organization, among 
numerous other tasks, works in cooperation with law enforcement 
agencies to help locate missing children.
  Regrettably, I had the opportunity to see this process firsthand 
during the August recess. I received a phone call in my eastern North 
Carolina district office from the parents of a young girl who was 
missing. I telephoned the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children and was relieved to hear that the center was already working 
on the case.
  Although the following days must have seemed like years to the young 
girl's parents, the center worked efficiently with the Lenoir County 
Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies to locate the 
missing girl. I am pleased to report that those parents got their 
daughter back safely. The young girl was returned to them as a result 
of the hard work of the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children and their cooperation with local law enforcement.
  Unfortunately, not all parents with missing children see this 
positive outcome. Each year more than 4,600 children are abducted by 
nonfamily members. It pains me to say that 800 of these abductions end 
in murder.
  The good people at the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children and a number of law enforcement agencies respond to reports of 
child abduction quickly, but saving each child is too often impossible. 
For this reason, the organization not only helps to locate missing 
children but it also works to raise public awareness about ways to 
prevent child abduction and exploitation.
  Mr. Speaker, America's children are the future of this Nation. I 
cannot emphasize enough the importance of protecting them from the many 
dangers that unfortunately exist in today's world.
  I would like to take this opportunity to thank the National Center 
for Missing and Exploited Children and law enforcement agencies 
throughout America for their hard work and dedication, not only in the 
case I just spoke of but in their efforts to protect all of our 
Nation's children. If we all continue to work together, I am confident 
that we can make the world a safer place for our children.

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