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The nightmare of Victoria Boisclair’s first day on Earth began one year ago when a woman disguised as a nurse took her from the hospital in Trois-Rivières and disappeared.
The baby’s mother, Mélissa McMahon, felt something was wrong with the woman who said she was going to weigh Victoria and examine her.
McMahon went to the nursing station and quickly realized that Victoria had been stolen. She ran to try to catch the woman, but she was too late.
People had been shocked to see a newborn taken outside with bare feet and no hat, but no one stopped the woman carrying her. McMahon and her husband struggled with the thought they they might never see Victoria again.
But police found her 3 1/2 hours later, thanks to a photo shared on Facebook. The kidnapper was later sentenced to two years in prison.
And on Monday, the day before Victoria’s first birthday, the toddler and her parents joined Facebook officials in announcing the company’s plan to share Amber Alerts among its 20 million Canadian customers.
“Last year we had success with Victoria and we are just hoping that every child missing in the past or in the future will have the same help as us,” McMahon said.
Ambers Alerts alone give useful information, she said. “But then when Facebook is involved, there is an incredible speed” in the sharing of the information.
“In our case the information was shared hundreds of thousands of times in just one hour… People were searching everywhere, the police as much as the citizens.”
Police in Victoria’s case were able to send out a photo of the suspect’s car with a distinctive “Baby on Board” window sign.
“Amber Alerts are rare and they are highly effective,” said Jordan Banks, managing director of Facebook Canada.
He said each one would be sent to Facebook customers who live in a designated search area. And he said the alert would be “incredibly comprehensive” with photos and all relevant information about the child and the suspected abductor.
The plan is supported by police across Canada, he said.
Facebook launched Amber Alerts in the United States in January.
McMahon said she hopes for a happy ending in all cases of missing children. Victoria “is safe and sound. She doesn’t remember,” she said.
But for Céline Éthier there has been no happy ending for almost 19 years. In 1996 her daughter Mélissa, 15 at the time, left a friend’s place to walk back to the family’s New Liskeard home, and disappeared. She was only a kilometre from home.
“I’m hoping for that tip that will help me find her,” Céline Éthier said Monday. “I’m not necessarily looking for the tip that will put somebody in jail… If anybody has that tip that I need to find my daughter, please make it possible for me to get that tip.”
Public safety minister Steven Blaney said the plan is important because a whole community can find a missing child better than police alone.
tspears@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/TomSpears1
Celine Ethier holds a picture of her daughter, Melanie Ethier. Melanie went missing in 1996 and has never been found. Celine attended the launch of the Facebook Amber Alert in Canada, May 25, 2015.
查看原文...
The baby’s mother, Mélissa McMahon, felt something was wrong with the woman who said she was going to weigh Victoria and examine her.
McMahon went to the nursing station and quickly realized that Victoria had been stolen. She ran to try to catch the woman, but she was too late.
People had been shocked to see a newborn taken outside with bare feet and no hat, but no one stopped the woman carrying her. McMahon and her husband struggled with the thought they they might never see Victoria again.
But police found her 3 1/2 hours later, thanks to a photo shared on Facebook. The kidnapper was later sentenced to two years in prison.
And on Monday, the day before Victoria’s first birthday, the toddler and her parents joined Facebook officials in announcing the company’s plan to share Amber Alerts among its 20 million Canadian customers.
“Last year we had success with Victoria and we are just hoping that every child missing in the past or in the future will have the same help as us,” McMahon said.
Ambers Alerts alone give useful information, she said. “But then when Facebook is involved, there is an incredible speed” in the sharing of the information.
“In our case the information was shared hundreds of thousands of times in just one hour… People were searching everywhere, the police as much as the citizens.”
Police in Victoria’s case were able to send out a photo of the suspect’s car with a distinctive “Baby on Board” window sign.
“Amber Alerts are rare and they are highly effective,” said Jordan Banks, managing director of Facebook Canada.
He said each one would be sent to Facebook customers who live in a designated search area. And he said the alert would be “incredibly comprehensive” with photos and all relevant information about the child and the suspected abductor.
The plan is supported by police across Canada, he said.
Facebook launched Amber Alerts in the United States in January.
McMahon said she hopes for a happy ending in all cases of missing children. Victoria “is safe and sound. She doesn’t remember,” she said.
But for Céline Éthier there has been no happy ending for almost 19 years. In 1996 her daughter Mélissa, 15 at the time, left a friend’s place to walk back to the family’s New Liskeard home, and disappeared. She was only a kilometre from home.
“I’m hoping for that tip that will help me find her,” Céline Éthier said Monday. “I’m not necessarily looking for the tip that will put somebody in jail… If anybody has that tip that I need to find my daughter, please make it possible for me to get that tip.”
Public safety minister Steven Blaney said the plan is important because a whole community can find a missing child better than police alone.
tspears@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/TomSpears1
Celine Ethier holds a picture of her daughter, Melanie Ethier. Melanie went missing in 1996 and has never been found. Celine attended the launch of the Facebook Amber Alert in Canada, May 25, 2015.
查看原文...
