The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has recognized the great opportunity social media outlets hold for finding the thousands of children who go missing each year. This past January, NCMEC partnered with the Justice Department to launch Facebook pages where users can link to local Amber Alerts. The Amber Alert Facebook pages represent a progressive strategy for utilizing social media to find missing persons. These pages feature information about missing children, categorized by state. Users receive notifications instantly when a child is reported missing in their area. Additionally, a Twitter account has been created by the NCMEC. @OurMissingKids tweets names, ages, locations, and birthdates of missing children with links to their photographs and additional information. We all know the chances for finding a missing person decreases greatly with each passing day. With real-time updates, Facebook and Twitter can offer more lead time for social media users like you and me to possibly recognize and find a missing person.

Coincidentally, as I wrote this blog post, my friend posted the status update you see below. It appeared on my Facebook newsfeed. At the time of the post, Matt Hill had been last seen on May 24, 2011 in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, DC. The Facebook page in the status update was created to generate the search’s momentum. It successfully gained thousands of members. What a perfect example to demonstrate the unlimited reach social media users have when transmitting information.

With each post, the Facebook page increased the chances for finding Matt. This past weekend in fact, Matt was found alive, safe and sound. Together, social media, local citizens, and organizations can partner to increase the rates of finding missing persons.

Last week, Brian David Mitchell was sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping, rape, and torture of Elizabeth Smart, who became a household name after her highly publicized disappearance from her Salt Lake City bedroom nine years ago. Less than one year after her disappearance, a cyclist recognized Smart walking on a street just miles from her hometown. Could Smart have been found earlier if social media utilization was as high then as it is now?

Additional social media resources:

Organizations: Seeking The Lost, America’s Most Wanted, Project Jason, Help Find The Missing

Missing persons: Timothy Pitzen, Michelle Hoang Thi Le, Joseph Bushling, Hugh Turner

Do you know of any other social media resources for organizations and missing persons? Please comment below to spread the word.