SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Do you know where your kids are?
Area law enforcement officials hope the answer is yes, as they took Tuesday to announce the "Take 25 Campaign," which is meant to keep children safe.
With proclamations from the city of San Antonio and Bexar County, the U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI and other agencies urged parents to be more involved in their kids' well-being.
The ceremonial, nonmonetary proclamations are intended to spur conversation between parents and their children about safety tips regarding abductions and sexual abuse.
They are in conjunction with National Missing Children's Day, which is on Sunday.
Tips include devising a password for children to ask before getting in a vehicle with someone other than a parent, making a list of people to call in an emergency and encouraging children to fight and make as much of a scene as possible if they think they are being kidnapped.
Resisting and attracting attention thwarts an estimated 81 percent of attempted abductions, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which started the "Take 25" campaign seven years ago.
Nearly 800,000 children are abducted each year, officials said. U.S. Marshal Robert Almonte said there are more than 460,000 currently missing nationally, with 44,000 of them in Texas and 3,876 in Bexar County.
Because many of them are preyed upon by sex offenders, Almonte said the Marshal Service's Lone Star Fugitive Task Force helps ensure that sex offenders follow all registration requirements.
"If they don't remain in compliance and register, we will track them down," Almonte said.
Copyright 2014 - San Antonio Express-News
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
