07/16/2014
Today, I was walking home from the school summer library with my wife and sons. We noticed two police officers having a meeting in the school parking lot. As we walked by, one headed off to the north and the other pulled up next to us. He said, "We are looking for a developmentally disabled teenage girl that wandered away from home in this area." He went on to give us a detailed description. Then he finished with, "If you see anyone matching that description in your travels, call 911." I said, "You got it." He drove away slowly, looking left and right, left and right.
The rest of the way home our heads were on swivels and the conversation was of nothing other than the missing girl. I asked my oldest son if he wanted to go for a ride around the neighborhood and look for the girl. He said, "Yeah!"
When we got home and jumped in the car he said, "We're CivilScouting." We drove the neighborhood for about 20 minutes. He used the map on my phone to guide me and keep me from hitting dead ends. We stopped and walked through one of the neighborhood parks and then headed home. All the while we were talking about police and he was gaining an understanding about what types of things they may be working on when we see them driving around or having a roadside meeting.
Eventually, we noticed the police cars were no longer circling the neighborhood. We assumed either the girl had been found or they had gained more information about a better possible location to continue the search. We had done our part.
This is the exact type of situation for which CivilScout was conceived. That police officer was doing exactly what CivilScout is striving to accomplish on a larger scale and in a more efficient manner.
We are making progress. If you live in Salem, Oregon or the surrounding areas, tell your friends about CivilScout and what we are doing. They can join at CivilScout.com and they will immediately be signed up for alerts. The alerts are few and far between right now but we are getting closer to expanding our input. We are constantly making adjustments so the system will run smoothly.
It won't be long before CivilScouts are making a real difference in out community.
Thanks for your support and keep up the good work!
