National Missing Children's Day Ceremony
May 23, 2012
Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole pays tribute to four individuals at this year's National Missing Children's Day Ceremony - a special agent, a detective, a 30-year veteran of the postal service, and a prosecutor - for their extraordinary efforts to recover missing children, rescue children from abuse, and prosecute sexual predators. Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, also announces the release of AMBER Alert best Practices, a guide to enhance the ability of officials to safely recover missing and abducted children. This annual ceremony has been commemorated since 1983, honoring missing children, their families, child advocates and those dedicated to the well-being and safety of children.
Press Release: Justice Department Recognizes Efforts to Rescue Children from Abuse and Prosecute Predators
Blog: Justice Department Commemorates National Missing Children's Day
-
Fifth-grader Elisa Martinez, from Walter V. Long Elementary School in Las Vegas, Nevada, received the Missing Children's Art Contest Award.Photo Credit: Amy Mathers for the Department of JusticeFrom left to right: Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole; Danielle Rayos, Elisa's teacher; Elisa Martinez; and Mary Lou Leary, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice Programs.
(In background: Julianna Hinton, last year's Missing Children's Art Contest winner; Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; and Yvonne Pointer, anti-violence activist, philanthropist, and author.) 
Special agent Tim Erickson of the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation receives the Attorney General's Special Commendation for his investigation of a school technology administrator on child pornography charges that resulted in the rescue of eight children from physical and sexual abuse and the arrest six individuals in five states and Canada.Photo Credit: Amy Mathers for the Department of JusticeFrom left to right: Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Mary Lou Leary, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice; Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole; and Tim Erickson, North Dakota Bureau of Crimination Investigation.-
Detective Randall Abbott from the Hartford, Wisconsin Police Department receives the Missing Children's Law Enforcement Award for his five-year investigation of a child neglect case that led to multiple convictions and the safe recovery of an endangered girl.Photo Credit: Amy Mathers for the Department of JusticeFrom left to right: Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole; Randall Abbott, detective from Hartford Police Department; and Mary Lou Leary, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice. -
2012 MCD PosterPhoto Credit: Amy Mathers for the Department of Justice"The reason why I created my poster is because, I want missing children to know that someone would put effort and time to send a message for them, and for the missing children to know, that someone out there really cares that they're missing! My poster, as you can see, has the Statue of Liberty on it with a child in her arms because the Statue of Liberty stands strong for the law which protects the children of America. Also on my poster there is the United States with the flag on it and in the flag where the stars are supposed to be, there are stick figures of the abducted children of the U.S. plus the builds are very bright because the children bring light to the States of America."
- Elisa Martinez, Walter V. Long Elementary School in Las Vegas, Nevada, recipient of the 13th annual Missing Children's Art Contest Award -
Yvonne Pointer, the mother of an abducted and murdered daughter and an international educator on child abduction and youth violence, delivers moving remarks at this year's ceremony to an audience of nearly 200 people.Photo Credit: Amy Mathers for the Department of Justice -
Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, speaks on behalf of his organization. Behind him is this year's winning piece for the Missing Children's Art Contest.Photo Credit: Amy Mathers for the Department of Justice -
Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, pauses during her opening address at the Department of Justice's National Missing Children's Day event.Photo Credit: Amy Mathers for the Department of Justice -
Keith Ray, a postal service veteran in Oakville, Missouri, receives the Missing Children's Day Citizen Award for finding an autistic boy after he had been reported missing from a local elementary school.Photo Credit: Amy Mathers for the Department of JusticeFrom left to right: Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole; Keith Ray, Oakville postal worker; and Mary Lou Leary, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice. -
Gregory Schiller, an assistant state attorney in Florida, receives the Missing Children's Child Protection Award for his central role in the conviction of a sexual predator and for his efforts to update Florida's laws to make intentional viewing of child pornography a crime.Photo Credit: Amy Mathers for the Department of JusticeFrom left to right: Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole; Gregory Schiller, Assistant State Attorney of Florida; and Mary Lou Leary, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice.
