Local group forms to address child abductions

“What happened to Sandra Cantu [an 8-year-old abducted and killed in Tracy earlier this year] was the final straw,” said Sonoma resident Nancy Laird. “Certainly there is something we can do.” What she did was to help assemble a group last Tuesday at the Sonoma Mentoring Center to address the issues of child and elder abduction.
The group included Mayor Ken Brown, Police Chief Bret Sackett, La Luz director Steve Dale, Mentor Center director Kathy Witkowicki, Sonoma Valley Unified School District director of student services Nanci Matheson, community members Jennifer Blackwood and Nancy Laird, and Polly Klass Foundation Director Bob DeLeo. The group was organized by Blackwood and Laird in hopes of developing a plan for the Sonoma Valley to raise awareness and train residents to know what to do in case the “unthinkable happens.”
The Polly Klaas Foundation was set up in 1993 after the horrible murder of that child in Petaluma left some 4,000 volunteers wondering what to do next. According to the foundation’s Web site, pollyklaas.org, one of the goals of the organization is: “To educate and empower children, parents and communities so that children do not become victims. The Foundation will support programs for children which build self-reliance and emergency skills without fear.”
DeLeo explained that “98 percent of children come back safely. Most are abducted by people they know or they get lost or they run away. We try and coordinate services between law enforcement and families with a goal of providing education. We often teach our kids to say yes but they must learn when to say no, to fight back and to run away. People have to decide if they want to do something pre-emptive or reactionary.”
The members of the meeting were there because they feel that Sonoma is ready to be pre-emptive. Laird presented a folder of information filled with local resources, which will be transcribed into a brochure. It will contain a checklist of what to do when your child is missing, a local phone directory of all emergency services, and a child information sheet. These will be created and distributed throughout Sonoma in both Spanish and English.
A Web site will also be created that will be linked to the Web sites for the City of Sonoma and the police department. Sackett explained, “We’ll have someone from law enforcement work on something to hand out. We already have SCOPE, which stands for Sonoma Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergency in place, which is like the neighborhood watch programs were in the ‘80s. Right now law enforcement is spread pretty thin, so the more communities can do the better. We also maintain an ‘Alzheimer’s book’ for the elderly, as we get 2 to 3 people walking away from their homes or sometimes found wandering lost each year. We have a small number of missing children.”
With education as the goal, the group discussed having programs like Kid Power do trainings for adults and kids. Blackwood commented, “There is great curriculum out there but parents are in denial about these abuses. One in three girls and one in four boys are sexually assaulted before they turn 18. We need empowerment and safety skills for all kids. People feel the fear.”
DeLeo expressed his admiration for what a unique, connected community there is in Sonoma and how the program could easily serve as a model for other cities. “Community is the key,” he said. “You must approach the issue together.”