At-Risk and Missing Children Campaign Brings National Advocate to Township

Township officials will be joined by a national advocate in the fight against child abduction and to launch a new inititive to prevent it.

Colleen Nick, whose daughter was abducted in Arkansas 1995 and never found, will join Chief Harry Earle and Mayor David Mayer to launch Project MARRS, Missing At Risk Response Strategies. Nick is a representative of the Natonal Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The news conference will be held at 2:30 p.m. Monday, April 1 at the Gloucester Township Community Park, 400 Hickstown Rd.

Project MARRS uses measures to not only locate missing persons but identify at-risk youth to further reduce crime by addressing circumstances of why children are kidnapped and why they leave the home.

Gloucester Township Police Department has become the first 911 Communications Center in the state to earn the title of being a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Call Center Partner. Additionally, GTPD has developed MERG (Missing Endangered Response Group) which provides training and equipment for GTPD officers to search for a missing endangered person. A key component of MERG is the use of a Volunteer Number Identification System assigned to volunteers who may be called upon to search for a missing child.

At the news conference, the Volunteer Number Identification System, the MERG Equipment Trailer, and the Incident Management Team Trailer, will be on display.