New Web Site Helps Spanish Police Recover Missing Children

The International Center for Missing & Exploited Children (International Center) today announced a new Web site that extends to Spain its global network of Web sites that help find missing children. The Web site was created with the cooperation of Computer Associates International, the Spanish Police, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

The Spanish site is the sixteenth addition to the International Center's global missing children's network, which relies on the global availability of the Internet to aid in the efforts to find missing children. In addition to Spain, the network is composed of Web sites based in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The network currently holds more than 3,500 cases of missing children, and receives an average of 520,000 visits daily from more than 200 countries.

Through a standard Web browser, the Spanish Police can post the photographs and physical descriptions of missing children, along with information regarding the circumstances of their disappearance, for instant distribution to the Internet's global audience. The Spanish Web site launched with photos and data on 14 missing children cases.

CA donated software and services for the site as part of its commitment to support the global missing children's network established by the International Centre, the global counterpart of NCMEC. CA's software makes it possible to allow simultaneous access to information on missing children, protect case data against security threats, maintain a backup of the database information, and ensure the full-time availability of the Web site.

"The addition of Spain to our global missing children's network is another step in our international effort to bring awareness to child abduction and exploitation," said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC and the International Center. "This collaboration between the Spanish Police Force and Computer Associates will provide a platform for families in Spain to seek information about missing children and obtain prevention materials."

"Computer Associates is committed to helping children around the world through technology," said Leo Bensadon, country manager for CA Spain. "It is an honor for us to be an active participant in launching the Spanish missing children's Web site, which we hope will help reunite children with their families in Spain, as it has done in other countries."

--CM