Category Archives: Polly Klaas

Ruminations on Proposition 36

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In 1993, my 12-year-old daughter Polly was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a recidivist violent offender. Over the course of three decades her killer, like many other repeat offenders, had been regurgitated through California’s criminal justice turnstile numerous times for a variety of non-serious, serious, and violent crimes. He had been on the streets for less than six months when he killed Polly.

KIMBERPOLLY

The crime against Polly prompted more than 800,000 Californian’s to sign the then fledgling 3-strikes-and-you’re-out ballot petition that would enhance prison sentences for repeat offenders, but it was not the crime that inspired 3-strikes. A year earlier 18-year old Kimber Reynolds was shot in the face and murdered by a 357-magnum handgun when she refused to give her purse to a thief: in other words, a petty crime turned violent with the squeeze of a trigger.

 

By the time the 1994 election occurred and 3-strikes passed by more than 70% of the popular vote, Governor Wilson had already signed the bill into law with the overwhelming support of the California legislature.

 

The Three Strikes law clearly established a sentencing structure for career criminals based upon their criminal history, not the last crime for which they were convicted. The law was clear and unambiguous: “With respect to a defendant convicted of any new felony who has two or more serious or violent prior felonies, the law mandates an indeterminate life sentence of no less than 25 years to life.” Its stated intent was “to ensure longer prison sentences and greater punishment for those who commit a felony and have been previously convicted of serious and/or violent felony offenses.”

 

In 1993, California was experiencing the most robust crime spurt in its history with 336,381 violent crimes, including 4,096 murders and 11,766 rapes, having been reported to law enforcement agencies. By 2011, the violent crime rate in California had dropped to 154,944 reported incidents. That included 1,792 murders and 7,663 rapes. In other words, you were half as likely to be the victim of a violent crime in in 2011 as in 1993. I would never attribute the entire decline in California’s crime rates since 1993 to the influence of the 3-Strikes law. But it would be equally misguided to maintain that the law has made no contribution.

 

As of Sept. 2012, the total prison population in California was 134,868. The 3rd-striker population was 8,873; or 6.6 percent of total. Each of those individuals had at least 2 serious or violent offenses on their record and many had multiple felony convictions. In fact, the average 3rd striker has between 3.5-5 felony convictions.

 

Each 3-strike inmate has had the benefit of prosecutorial discretion (in the furtherance of justice, or if there is insufficient evidence to prove the prior strike conviction), judicial discretion (trial courts in California also have discretion in their sentencing choices that permit them to fashion appropriate outcomes on behalf of a particular third-strike defendant), and the appeals process. Those who qualified had the benefit of the previous Prop 36 (2000) drug treatment diversion program. If they were unable to surmount any of those barriers, I agree with the court that they belong in prison.

 

Prop 36 proponents also said that California would no longer pay for housing or long-term health care for elderly, low-risk, non-violent inmates serving life sentences for petty crimes. According to the Public Policy Institute of California men between 18-40-years old are the age group most likely to commit crime.  If that statistic is consistent with the 3-strike population, then most 3rd strikers will be eligible for parole before they reach their 65th birthday. In fact, according to data on third-strikers categorized by age, we see that less than 10.2 percent of the entire third-striker population is over the age of 60. Similarly, less than 3.6 percent are over the age of 65.

 

In the 5-years prior to 3-strikes California taxpayers funded and built 19 new prisons. During the 18 years that 3-strikes was in effect California taxpayers have only funded and built 1 new prison. And that happened while the state population grew from 33 million to 38 million.

Personally, I believe that this clearly demonstrates that 3-strikes was working as intended and has prevented millions of victimizations by keeping career criminals behind bars. Therefore, there was no reason to tweak the law. However, Proposition 36 proponents suggested that too many criminals are serving life sentences for petty crimes, leading to unacceptable costs to the taxpayer and dangerous prison overcrowding, and that nobody who poses a risk to public safety will be released from prison as a result of its passage. As a result, approximately 3,000 3rd strikers now qualify for resentencing and release back into society.

 

This is the same bill of goods that Governor Brown pitched when he sold the legislature on AB-109, the Public Safety Realignment Program, which became law on October 1, 2011. Under AB 109, responsibility for who houses, supervises, and rehabilitates non-violent, non-serious, and non-sexual criminals shifted away from the State of California to the Counties. That means that tens of thousands of prison inmates were transferred from state prisons to county jails. Because many Counties were already beyond capacity the result has been a wholesale felon dump onto the streets of California.

 

The results are alarming. According to FBI statistics documenting national and state crimes over the first six months of 2012, after nearly 20-years of declining crime rates, crime is on the rise. However, violent crime in California increased at more than twice the national rate, rising 4% while the rise in property crime was six times higher at 9%. Furthermore California experienced a 7.6% increase in homicide and double-digit increases in burglary and auto theft. The unintended consequences of AB 109 have resulted in so called non-serious, non-violent, and non-sexual offenders wreaking havoc on the streets of California, murdering, raping and maiming innocent citizens.

 

Are there really thousands of 3rd strikers serving life sentences for petty crime? Remember, the 3-strikes law clearly stated that, “With respect to a defendant convicted of any new felony who has two or more serious or violent prior felonies, the law mandates an indeterminate life sentence of no less than 25 years to life.” The goal was to rid society of career criminals, that small percentage of individuals responsible for a large percentage of serious and violent crime.

 

Scott Hove

Scott Hove

Yes, there are individuals in the 3rd-strike population whose final conviction was for trivial crime, but that is but the tip of the iceberg. Let’s look at Scott Andrew Hove who was sentenced to 29-years to life for pilfering $20 worth of wire from a Home Depot. However, Hove is also an “incurable recidivist,” with a lengthy rap sheet dating from 1984 with convictions including theft, burglary, drug possession and DUI causing death. Hove is not an anomaly. I would challenge Proposition 36 proponents to cite one case of an inmate serving a life sentence for a history of petty crime.

 

That brings us to what I consider one of the biggest loopholes that Prop 36 is responsible for. The current iteration of 3-strikes removes prosecutorial discretion as it applies to so-called wobblers and non-serious/violent crimes. Requiring the third strike to be serious or violent to trigger a 25-life sentence shifts the emphasis of the law from an offender’s criminal history to the last crime for which he was caught.

 

John Ewell

John Ewell

And finally, that brings us to the sad and pitiful case of John Wesley Ewell. For those that don’t know, Ewell was a 2-striker with a criminal record spanning more than 2 decades. He was well known in his community as a vocal opponent of 3-strikes who said that the policy made him a prisoner in his own home. The LA District Attorney opted not to charge Ewell with a third strike for minor crimes on four separate occasions because he believed that the third strike must be a serious/violent felony. John Wesley Ewell is now sitting in the LA County jail charged with four counts of murder with special circumstances, robbery and receiving stolen property. Under the old three strikes law these crimes were totally preventable. Under the current three strikes, they were inevitable.

 

Proponents say that Proposition 36 is more effective that the law it has replaced because its policies have been in place in LA County for more than a decade so they are tried and true. I say that John Wesley Ewell proves that Prop 36 policy is flawed and will endanger the lives of innocent citizens.

 

Does anybody really expect thousands of third strikers released into the community to obey the law? Remember, each one of these characters has at least two serious or violent convictions. In each case the prosecutor, judge, and the court of appeals felt that society was well served by keeping them behind bars and I couldn’t agree more.


 

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 191

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Linnea Lomax

We who are drawn to and volunteer at missing person search centers are focused on the singular goal of rescuing and/or recovering a missing person. Sometimes, as in the case of Linnea Lomax, the missing person is found very quickly, as we are just learning to recognize each other’s faces. We shake hands and return home knowing that we have helped a family find answers. Other times, searches can be drawn out for months or even years. People who might not have met for any other reason or purpose suddenly find themselves captives of the emotional vortex that is the search center. That is when things can become complicated.

Polly Klaas

When we were searching for Polly in 1993, hundreds of volunteers were drawn to our search center. Some visited once or maybe twice, but others returned time and time again. Over the two month period that we were looking for Polly, as we became friends instead of strangers, many of the volunteers let their guard down and began sharing personal details about their lives. For some reason many of those volunteers, mostly women, confessed secrets to me. Some of those secrets were so deep seeded that I suspect they had never before been shared. Most had to do with being molested or otherwise victimized when they were children. As difficult as the stories were to listen to, they had to be much harder to tell, because sometimes the ladies would cry or pause to collect their emotions. Many carried guilt, some were still angry, others had found peace through counseling or spirituality, a few had substance abuse issues, but all were driven to help a little girl and her desperate family. Without exception, they admitted that they were volunteering to find my daughter as a way to reconcile, or make amends, with their own past.

Sierra LaMar

At the Sierra LaMar Search Center, which has been active for six months now, many of the people on the KlaasKids team are damaged souls. Violet and I lost Polly. My brother in law Kelby was also very close to Polly and has made search and rescue work a major component of his volunteer activity ever since. I met Danny Domingo at a search center in Vallejo that was established for his niece Xiana Fairchild in 1999. Her skull was found in the Santa Cruz Mountains in January, 2001.  Midsi Sanchez survived her own harrowing ordeal at the hands of a predator in 2000. Michael Le and Krystine Dinh are currently attending the trial of the woman who killed their beloved sister and cousin Michelle Le. Debbie and Pat Boyd, who I first met at the Sierra Search Center, have never recovered the remains of their daughter Kristie Wilson, although an individual has been convicted of murdering her in October, 2005. I share this only because I truly believe that those who have suffered victimization sometimes resolve to assist others who are currently enduring victimization as a way to give meaning to their own struggles.

Xiana Fairchild

I am concerned that many of the things that brought us together to find Sierra and now undermining the effort to achieve this singular goal. I see people criticizing and nitpicking over trivial matters. Social media is being used as a weapon to undermine, not strengthen our search effort, by focusing on peripheral issues that detract from, and not enhance the common cause. Personality clashes that should be confronted or dealt with in person are instead being posted on Facebook. Alliances and cliques that have personal agendas clutter the path to Sierra like weeds, and make it difficult to stay on course.

Midsi Sanchez

We should refocus on the positive things that have been achieved these past six months. Friendships have been formed. Some of us have found new purpose in our lives. A cause that is bigger than any of us has united us in a common goal. We have made our community proud, and we are closer to finding Sierra than we have ever been before. The work that we are doing together in Morgan Hill can be transformational if only we allow ourselves to stay the course, but right now we are drifting.

Christie Wilson

Together we need to refocus and find Sierra. By doing so, we might finally find ourselves.

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 2

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Yesterday was about organization, but today is all about action. It overwhelmed us like a human tsunami. A wave of volunteers descended upon the Find Sierra Search Center to help find the missing 15-year-old girl. We were optimistically prepared for 150-volunteers, based upon the bubbling cauldron of anticipation that we all detected. However we were not prepared for 583-people to show up early on a cool, gray Tuesday morning. Are there really that many unemployed people in Morgan Hill, CA., or was something else going on? I like to think that all of these caring people had found a higher calling than a paycheck for at least this one day. Sometimes it takes the worsts of humanity to inspire the best of humanity.

It was dark and raining when I left home this morning so I dressed for the weather. However, by the time I approached Morgan Hill, the sun had appeared over the horizon and the sky was somewhat overcast, but it looked like the weather was going to cooperate with Find Sierra for at least one more day. The nearer I got to the search center the more I focused on the details: is she in that pile of dirt, hiding in that abandoned building, somewhere on that high ridge? Is she waiting to be rescued like Elizabeth Smart, or was she trying to effect an escape like 8-year-old Midsi Sanchez succeeded in doing back in 2000.

I thought a lot about Polly on the 90-minute drive to Morgan Hill: how much hope I had at a similar stage in the search, while at the same time trying desperately to hold onto my sanity as the world I knew suddenly ceased to exist, to be replaced by a bizarro world that had no rhyme or reason.

We know so much more now than we did then, and we have so many more tools. Parents have a world of resources that simply didn’t exist in 1993; law enforcement responds more quickly and with a better understanding of the issue, yet Sierra is as invisible today as Polly was between October 1 and December 4, 1993. It infuriates me that I cannot make 2+2=4 and walk this girl into the loving arms of her family. Instead, 2+2=5, or 11, or nothing at all and Sierra is nowhere to be found. 

Polly was the first missing child on the Internet, and now almost two decades later Sierra LaMar is all over the Internet. Polly’s case benefited from some technically astute minds in Northern California at a time when personal computers were just beginning to gain widespread acceptance. When they told me that a first generation flyer could be downloaded anywhere on the planet they might as well have been speaking in tongues. But being a missing child on the Internet helped Polly to become almost as well known on the East Coast as she was in Sonoma County.
 

Sierra LaMar is all over the Internet. Her missing poster is my Facebook profile picture. There are at least three Facebook pages dedicated to her plight and all are providing updates, pictures, story and video links. She also has her own social media accounts. Unfortunately, none have been used since shortly before she disappeared early in the morning on Friday, March 16. That a socially sophisticated teenager with more than 6,000 twitter posts would go cold turkey is an enormous red flag. That her final tweet can be traced to shortly before her disappearance helps to establish a viable timeline. Unfortunately, as far as the Internet has come and despite the fact that Facebook has become the 21st Century milk carton project Sierra LaMar is still missing.

In 2000, 8-year-old Midsi Sanchez was kidnapped by a predatory turd who kept her chained inside his car for three days. At an opportune moment, when her perv left her alone in the car for a moment, Midsi grabbed the keychain that was still in the ignition and systematically went through his keys until she was able to unlock her shackles. Midsi ran, he followed. My very good friend Midsi was at the search center today, the walking turd died in prison in 2009 after admitting to killing two other children. Midsi and her friend Davina are organizing this weekend’s Teen Brigade so that Sierra’s friends can join this unprecedented community effort to bring her home.


 
This afternoon Sierra’s parents announced the Sierra LaMar Fund, established to help with the costs associated with Sierra’s search and rescue efforts, and to fund a reward for information leading to Sierra’s recovery.  Her dad asked the public to contribute to the fund. Contributions can be made directly to the Sierra LaMar Fund at any Chase Bank, or online through the Fundrazr link available at Find Sierra LaMar. Sierra’s mom expressed her gratitude for the amazing show of support.  
 
Breaking News: The Santa Clara County Sheriff today reclassified Sierra’s case from missing person to involuntary missing person. Investigators have treated this case as a possible crime since the beginning and now believe it is highly unlikely she ran away.  

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What Should Have Happened – Polly Klaas

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On October 2, 1993 Polly and the two girls who spent the night at her slumber party woke up at about 9:00 am, rolled up their sleeping bags, washed up, brushed their teeth and ate blueberry pancakes for breakfast. They’d been up the night before playing Nintendo and a favorite board game called Perfect Match. After Kate and Gillian left about an hour later Polly helped her mom Eve and half-sister Annie pack for their weekend trip to Monterey, about three-hours down the coast from their home in Petaluma, CA. On the way to the car Polly locked the back door, which had been left unlocked the night before. Polly was spending the weekend with her dad in Sausalito

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This should have happened because Richard Allen Davis was properly denied parole at a hearing three months previously. Davis was a known threat to society. When he was a child Davis tortured and killed animals. During the course of his extensive criminal history he was sentenced to more than 200 years behind bars. In 1978 he was diagnosed as a sexually sadistic psychopath. He chose to victimize women who were isolated and alone.
On June 27, 1993 Davis was paroled after serving less than half of a sixteen-year-sentence for kidnapping, pistol whipping, and robbing $6,000 from his victim. During August and September 1993, many people in Petaluma crossed paths with Richard Allen Davis. On September 27, Daryl Stone went to Wickersham Park, diagonally across the street from Polly’s house. He passed within twenty feet of Richard Davis who was sitting on a park bench with a heavy set, ruddy complexioned woman about a hundred and fifty yards from Polly’s house. Davis was wearing dirty jeans and a sweatshirt with cut sleeves. They were drinking liquor from a bottle in a paper bag, talking loudly. Their demeanor and attitude disgusted Stone. He did not want to be in the park with the crude couple, so he went home, one block away.
What should have happened is that he called the police who then dispatched a patrolman to the scene. Because the interaction was prompted by a citizen complaint the officer had probable cause to run a criminal history on the crude, disheveled drifter whose arms were covered in prison tattoos. The officer arrested him on the spot because Davis, who did not live in Petaluma, was in violation of his parole. The career criminal was returned to San Quentin prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence for kidnapping and pistol whipping his previous victim.
California lawmakers, unconcerned with public safety, released Davis from prison in 2001. Three months later Davis was loitering in Sausalito, California’s Dunphy Park. He had been spending quite a lot of time in that park lately because he had his eye on a pretty and carefree twelve-year-old girl who passed by daily. It was a balmy spring afternoon when he stole a bicycle that belonged to one of a group of boys that were fishing along the shoreline. He was immediately arrested.
Given the nature of his criminal history the Marin County District Attorney decided to prosecute Davis under California’s Three-Strikes-and-You’re Out penalty enhancement statute. Davis was convicted and sentenced to twenty-five-years to life in prison. He died before his sentence was completed.

This is what should have happened. Too bad reality got in the way and no one was held accountable and hearts were broken. Life goes on.
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Jonathan’s Gift

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During the course of one year I lost my only child to violence, my youngest brother to the ravages of illness and a grandmother to time. I survived these tragedies a better, stronger, and more determined person, because I was nurtured by the grace of angels.

The hand of God touched me on the day Polly was born. The first time I held her in my arms I experienced the power of unconditional love. This perfect baby was mine, and I would love and protect her forever. For me, this was the miracle of birth.

I was fortunate that Polly was my companion on this earthly pilgrimage. The strength of her commitment enhanced my understanding of the human condition and provided me with clarity of vision. The depth of her emotion taught me that caring for others could strengthen my own self worth and expand my horizons beyond material values. The purity of her love defined her final act. She faced her worst fears with courage worthy of the most seasoned combat veteran. On shaky knees, as the devil was stealing her into the night, her final words were, “Please don’t hurt my mother and sister.” My greatest teacher was only twelve-years-old.

That night the angels dipped their wings over Petaluma and re-claimed one of their own. In life Polly shared her gifts with those who were touched by her presence, but in death she touched us all. The welfare of a little lost girl surmounted religious, ethnic and political barriers. Millions of eyes were looking for her and millions of hands were clasped in prayer for her safe return. Her presence on earth set a course that millions of years of evolution, thousands of years of legislation and hundreds of years of struggle and strife couldn’t accomplish. She brought us together as one. Those were Polly’s angels.

The nation rose like a phoenix in the wake of Polly’s tragedy and demanded answers. For sixty-five days we navigated the murky waters of despair toward a fate that tantalized us with glimmers of light, and then doused our hopes with uncertain veils of darkness. Finally the prayers of Polly’s angels were answered, but not as we expected. Polly’s unselfish bravery in the face of doom provided the target and her commitment of love gave us the weapon to use in the eternal struggle between good and evil. In bitter irony we discovered that in order to win the war, we sometimes have to lose a battle.

Seven months later I visited my brother Jonathan on his deathbed. He seemed to be recovering and was excited to see me. I held his hand as he told me the following story. “Earlier today Polly visited me. She fluttered above me like a butterfly on tiny wings. I asked her why her wings were so small? She said that it was because she wasn’t ready to go yet. Then Polly said, ‘Get ready Uncle Jonny, because you will be joining me soon and there are a great big pair of wings waiting for you.’ I asked her if I should hurry? Polly said, ‘No, Uncle Jon, you want your wings to get as big as they can, and together we will take a ride that is better than anything at Disneyland.” Two days later Jonathan died. Now he is with Polly on a fantastic voyage.

My grandmother was very old, bed ridden and fragile, so we didn’t tell her about either of these misfortunes. Besides, she was riding horses, and wanted to get to the top of the mountain where Polly was waiting for her and the sun was disappearing over the horizon. She is now with Polly, and the sun has set and I know something that I never realized before. The angel we were seeking was guiding us all along.

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Baby Lisa and the Loss of Faith

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babylisa_224Baby Lisa’s parents have asked supporters not to hold any more vigils for the missing one-year-old on their front lawn. Really? So there are people trying to help; trying to keep the story alive in hopes of recovering the little girl and the family is asking them to stop. A family spokesperson said that the vigils made a return to normalcy impossible and that the vigils were upsetting Lisa’s half brothers. Meanwhile the authorities have reported no new developments in the case.

 

Volunteers who are invested in the safe return of baby Lisa need support from the family, not indifference or condemnation, yet they have been blown off by Jeremy and Deborah After all, it has been demonstrated time and time again that the recovery of an abducted child requires a full team effort that includes volunteers. But no: instead of assisting in baby recovery, the volunteers are told that they are making it impossible for the family to return to a normal routine.

 

How normal can life be if your home has been broken into, your infant has been kidnapped and remains missing and your other children are left to believe that an evil boogeyman who has already stolen your sister remains at large? If your lawyer and not your heart speaks on your behalf then your sense of normal probably belongs in a courtroom, not a living room. If you can convince yourself that a return to normal means that there should be no more vigils on your front lawn then you are either in denial or something more sinister is afoot. It took many years after my daughter Polly’s tragedy before Violet and I were able to adjust to our new normal. We had lost a piece of our soul, our vision of the future severely challenged our faith.

 

What must the step-brothers think of this most recent development? It seems like vigils on their lawn would be the least of their worries. We know that five and eight-year-old children register fear, have nightmares and are totally dependent on their parents for their survival. So I have to wonder what Jeremy and Deborah are telling them about the disappearance of their little sister. I also wonder if they have asked, “What would you do if I was kidnapped?”

 

How would you like Jeremy and Deborah to be your parents? It would be like hovering off the edge of a cliff with a severe case of vertigo and no one to hold onto.

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Big Reward for Bad Behavior

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The other day I sat in a satellite uplink studio in San Francisco with an earpiece in my ear and a microphone clipped to my lapel, staring at a camera lens during a taping of the Nancy Grace Show. 2,854 miles away in Orlando, Florida Drew Kesse, the father of Jennifer, a 24-year-old woman who has been missing since Jan. 24, 2006, was sitting in a similar room, wired up in a similar fashion, during the taping of the Nancy Grace Show. The Topic of the program was Dr. Phil’s interview with Casey Anthony’s parents George and Cindy.

A week earlier Drew Kesse came out swinging. He called the Anthony’s “a disgrace and an insult to every missing person and their families,” and Dr. Phil “a pimp for (airing) this garbage”. I was looking forward to supporting Drew’s position on the program, but alas the opportunity was never presented. Therefore, I’d like to take a moment to explain why Drew is right, why Dr. Phil is wrong, and why the Anthony’s have outstayed their welcome.

Drew and I have some things in common with George and Cindy. Like the Anthony’s, we both experienced the loss of a loved one. My daughter Polly was missing for 65-days before her remains were recovered. Drew still doesn’t know what happened to his daughter. However, he does know that she was taken against her will and remains missing to this day.  That’s pretty much were our commonalities with the Anthony’s end, because from the moment that both of our daughters disappeared we had only one goal: to pursue the truth in recovering our girls. We didn’t pursue celebrity or wealth. We were willing to do whatever was necessary, including turning in members of our own families to get our children back.

On the other hand, the Anthony’s wouldn’t know the truth if it kicked them in the butt. Their daughter Casey is apparently unable to tell the truth, and even if she did, how could you believe her? George and Cindy, as was demonstrated again in the Dr. Phil interview, are not only unable to acknowledge the truth, but continue to excuse and justify their daughter’s narcissistic, homicidal behavior.

During the interview Cindy said that grand mal seizures, a brain tumor and possible postpartum schizophrenia could potentially explain Casey’s behavior. I’ve never heard of seizures prompting murder, and according to the Psychologist on the Nancy Grace Show postpartum schizophrenia is a mental disorder that doesn’t even exist. No, the similarities that Drew and I share with the Anthony’s begin and end with the disappearance of our daughters.

Generally, the families of missing or murdered children struggle financially. In our single minded determination to recover our lost children we put other worldly considerations aside. Families give up incomes, or become too depressed to work. Medical and psychological costs can devour huge amounts of our savings. Failure or inability to attend to mundane bookkeeping can result in home foreclosures and or mounting debt. I am not complaining; I am simply stating the truth as I understand it.

According to all credible reports Dr. Phil did not pay the Anthony’s for the interview. Instead he donated nearly $500,000 to a “charitable organization currently being formed to honor their granddaughter called Caylee’s Fund.” Truth be told, Caylee’s Fund does not yet exist, therefore it is not a charitable organization, and therein lies the rub.

The Anthony family is handsomely rewarded for abysmal behavior. Casey gets away with murder, George and Cindy lie and parry and deny the truth, yet they receive a huge payoff from a daytime TV program seeking sky-high ratings. Caylee is still dead and the truth be damned.
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A New Concept: The Polly Center

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Brad’s Suburban

KlaasKids strives to remain on the cutting edge of child safety. To that end, on July 23, 2011 we introduced a revolutionary concept in child abduction and exploitation response. The Polly Center, located in Pensacola, Florida is a proactive missing child resource center. It was created to provide a preemptive response network to serve families of missing persons. This regional resource center will also provide abuse prevention programs for children and services for victims of exploitation.

 Responding to a missing person case is akin to communities responding to natural disasters. When a 911 call is placed reporting a missing person, the response must happen very quickly as time lost can be critical and even life threatening. So it is with natural disasters: communities must respond from the ground up. Currently, most communities have an emergency disaster response plan which consists of pre-planning and the identification of resources necessary to respond to a give disaster. The Polly Center will mirror that approach as it applies to missing person and human trafficking cases.

The concept behind the Polly Center is based on events that happened and surrounded my daughter Polly’s case in 1993. The entire community of Petaluma: business; churches; individuals; fraternal organizations all came together to assist in building the search effort for Polly. For the past 18-years KlaasKids has been responding to communities that are grappling with predatory or highly suspicious missing child cases. However, each time that we respond we have to invent the wheel all over again by locating relevant resources. With the Polly Center much of that work will already be in place and resources will be put on alert to respond as necessary.

A preemptive response plan includes creating key partnerships with law enforcement, businesses, civic organizations and churches willing to participate during the search for a missing person or willing to assist in the rescue and recovery of victims of exploitation these partnerships allow the Polly Center to create a response framework prior to a missing response or rescue attempt.

Currently, we have the support of local authorities including the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Several agreements have been established with key organizations. California based BeyondMissing will provide parents with a parent flyer tool. They will be able to upload pictures, fill out form fields and quickly create a professional English or Spanish language missing child flyer that can be shared via fax or email. The Florida Coalition against Human Trafficking will provide assistance in identifying and placing victims. The Gulf Coast Kids House, a Children’s Advocacy Center, will provide services to child abuse victims. Area Search and Rescue teams will provide professional services in the search for missing persons

The Polly Center is the brainchild of Brad Dennis, the KlaasKids Foundation National Director of Search Operations. Brad, who has more than 25-years of experience in search and rescue and crisis management, has managed search efforts for more than 180-missing and exploited children throughout the United States, including the community assisted search effort following Polly’s 1993 kidnapping. Most volunteer search protocols currently being used were developed by Brad during the search for Polly.

If KlaasKids finds success with the Pensacola based Polly Center we intend to replicate the template throughout the United States. We know that such an ambitious vision will be difficult to implement and will take time, but we believe that our children are worth it. Don’t you?
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