Edward Smith knows bad things can happen. That's why he's promoting the idea that parents should have samples of their children's DNA, useful for both medical and identification purposes.
He knows bad things happen because they happened in his town, tiny Powell, Wyo., population 500. And they happened in his family. His granddaughter, Christin Lamb, 8, was visiting him 18 months ago. She went around the block to turn off some water and disappeared.After the heart-wrenching search, the hope that she'd become distracted, the prayers that she'd be home safely, her body was found. It was later learned that within minutes of Christin's heading around the block on her scooter, a 22-year-old neighbor grabbed her, assaulted her and killed her, then dumped her body in the garbage. A few hours later, he joined the volunteers searching for the little girl. Today he's serving consecutive life sentences.
Smith thought he'd never overcome the grief. But he searched for a way to create something positive and started the Christin Lamb Foundation, a well-respected volunteer agency that springs into action when a child is missing. It is, in fact, the only authority-recognized missing children's organization in a five-state region that includes Utah. And it has established links with the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children.
The foundation uses the latest technology to publicize the search for the child, working with law enforcement and related agencies like the Utah Missing Person Clearinghouse, part of the Department of Public Safety's Bureau of Criminal Identification. It also helps educate children and their parents on ways to protect themselves, provides safety information and links people with crime victim's assistance. They've pushed hard to get laws to help families keep their children safe, including sexual offender notification programs.
But one of the most important things they've done, according to Smith, is make DNA technology available to parents.
It's a program they'd like to bring to the Wasatch Front, but they need a sponsor.
Smith said they like to find someone in a community who wants to help, including raising money for the DNA kits ($3 each). In the last year, the foundation took the program to fairs in several Western states.
"We try to work it so the kits are given to families, rather than charging for them," he said. "We help set up and train people to do the painless cheek swabs, working right with them."
The swabbed sample is placed in a preservative and given to the parents for storage, so the parent controls how the sample is used. Some hospitals are using the swabs on newborns to make sure there are no mix-ups in sending infants home.
There's another message Smith would like to get out: If your child disappears, call the police immediately. False alarms are better than late alarms. And contact the foundation, which has volunteers and service providers so the information can be disseminated immediately.
"It's a fact," said Gina McMahon with the Utah Missing Person Clearinghouse, "that the first two hours are so important if a child has been abducted. That's when the best chance exists a child can be brought home safely."
Although police respond immediately now to any report of a missing children, the foundation and agencies like it have a different and valuable set of resources to offer.
For more information on the foundation or its efforts to bring DNA collection to Utah, call 1-800-651-5262 or e-mail clamb@wavecom.net. The foundation also has a Web page: www.clamb.org.