A
COUPLE who launched a worldwide search
for their missing daughter visited
Peeblesshire to promote a new child
rescue alert system.
Kate and Gerry McCann were among a group
of 30 guests and supporters of UK
charity Missing People at Stobo Castle
for the first Child Rescue Alert dinner
in Scotland.
Their daughter Madeleine went missing on
a family holiday in Portugal eight years
ago.
The local event was hosted by Stobo
owner Stephen Winyard who is also a
patron of the Child Rescue Alert system
which is managed by the charity.
The Child Rescue Alert system, which is
a partnership between CEOP, a command of
the National Crime Agency, the charity
Missing People and Groupcall, offers
vital, rapid public outreach when a
child is known to have been abducted or
their life is believed to be at
immediate risk.
Amber Alert, a similar system in the
United States, has been responsible for
finding over 750 child safe and well. In
the past year, more than 280,000 people
have signed up to receive free Child
Rescue Alerts to their phones via sms,
email and an app.
The aim of the event at Stobo was to
raise funds and to encourage companies
to commit to registering their
colleagues and employees to the system.
Child Rescue Alert has so far been made
possible thanks to support from players
of People’s Postcode Lottery, who have
awarded £225,000 to the project,
allowing the Child Rescue Alert to
launch last year.
The awareness event raised an impressive
£17,700 with many of those present also
pledging to encourage their colleagues
to sign up to the Alert system |
