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COOKES INVITED TO STATE OF TEXAS CONFERENCE
October 30, 2002 Conference Highpoints by Robert Cooke My wife Janet and I got up early and drove to the site where The TEXAS LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN would be held. NEWS 8 Austin wanted to do a live report on their 6:00 a.m. broadcast. We arrived at the site, and NEWS 8 was not there. I called the station, and their news team was mistakenly sent to the wrong location. It was an honest mistake and those things happen. The station notified the team, and they met us at the correct building and interviewed us. FOX 7 News interviewed us just before the conference began. Texas Representative Miguel Wise opened the conference and introduced Ernie Allen, the President and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Mr. Allen gave basically the same speech he delivered at the Washington D.C. Conference. He stated the five myths about missing children and described each one. The myths are: 1. Your child is just a runaway. 2. The child is with a parent. How bad can that be? 3. There are only 100 stranger abductions per year. 4. Sexual offenses are only committed by family members. 5. My kid's in his room on the Internet. He is safe. Mr. Allen closed with the seven improvements that can be made to keep children safe. 1. Focus on prevention. 2. Increase the reporting. 3. Continue to make sure that every police department is prepared. 4. Continue to work to improve technology. 5. Work to overcome turf. (jurisdiction) 6. Target offenders who prey upon children. 7. Use NCMEC. The first panel to present was "Children and the Internet", monitored by John Klassen, Division Chief, Internet Bureau Division, Office of the Texas Attorney General. The panel discussed ways to monitor children on the Internet and what to do and not to do. Most of the panel members had good suggestions, but a few of the members said to just keep children off the Internet. I think that is bad advice; the Internet is an important tool when used correctly. The next panel was moderated by Heidi Fischer, the Program Administrator of the Texas Department of Public Safety's Missing Persons Clearing House. The panel was "Families Affected By Missing, Abducted, and Exploited Children - Their Personal Stories - The State of Texas Reacts". This was the panel Janet and I were on. Patricia Bradbury spoke first. She is the mother of abducted Raleigh Bradbury. Ms. Bradbury spoke about being the first parent to have a child safely returned when an Amber Alert was issued. John and Gloria Brown recounted the story of their daughter Nikki's being lured to run away to California to meet a 26-year-old man she met on the Internet. Nikki was returned home safely after a combined effort of friends, family, the media, and law enforcement in both Texas and California. I was involved a little with the case and reported it in previous journal entries. Mrs. Bynum then told the story of her 20-year-old daughter, Kelli Ann Cox's, disappearance. Kelli's story was much like Rachel's except she has a 2-year-old daughter. Kelli has been missing 3 years, and her daughter is now being raised by her grandparents, the Bynums. Janet and I spoke next. Janet described the first 72 hours of Rachel's disappearance. I presented the things we have done after that time. I also took the liberty of giving suggestions that Janet and I had. We want sexual offenders kept in jail, we want more attention given to missing adults, and we want training for law enforcement to help them determine when a person left on his/her own and when he/she didn't. I also described the club that parents and family members of missing children are thrown into. The club that no one wants to join. I also talked about the benefits of the Internet and how we have used it in the search for Rachel. I could tell by the audience's expressions when I told them I have used the Internet for over 15 years, they didn't know much about it. The Internet was actually first formed in the 1970s. President Johnson signed the first bill to fund it back in the 1960s. Tim and Linda Henry spoke next. Their missing daughter Leah was abducted by a serial sexual predator. Leah was returned home, but she is having a terrible team adjusting. This once very affectionate child now won't even allow anyone to hug her. KXAN interviewed Janet and me after our panel was finished. Then we did another interview with NEWS 8. The panel "Texas Amber Alert - How Does It Work?" talked about the Amber Alert and its implementation in Texas. The panel was moderated by Ann Arnold, Executive Director of the Texas Association of Broadcasters. United States Congressman Nick Lampson presented the second keynote speech during lunch. I met Congressman Lampson in Clear Lake City in July. He is a big supporter of the NCMEC. The first afternoon panel was "Children and the Media". The panel was moderated by KVUE News Anchor Ron Oliveira. Janet and I introduced ourselves to Mr. Oliveira before the conference began. He said he felt he knew us because of all of the stories that KVUE has done on Rachel. I must say that I was a little disappointed by this panel. It focused on violence and nudity in television programming. I was hoping that they would talk about the role the media plays in missing person cases. The media has been a huge help in the search for Rachel. The next panel was "Exemplary Model Programs in Texas - Keeping Texas School Children Safe". This panel was moderated by Craig Tounget, Executive Director of the Texas P.T.A. I enjoyed most listening to Chief William Horton of the Mansfield ISD Police Department. Chief Horton has put an innovative program into place in their school system. In the high school, his office actually pays students to tell them when they see another student bring a gun or drugs into the school. The last panel was "Legislative Recommendations/Proposals For The 78th Regular Session Of The Texas Legislature". The panel was moderated by Representative Miguel Wise. They opened the floor to questions and encouraged the audience to come talk to the legislature when a bill is being presented. They need our input. Janet expressed our concern with lack of support for missing adults, and I brought up the issue of victims and their families being attacked by defense lawyers during a trial. The victims and their families should have the same or more rights as the accused. After the conference adjourned, I introduced myself to Burnet County Sheriff Joe Pollack. I told him he would be seeing a lot of Rachel's Hunters' flyers posted in his county. He took a few flyers with him and expressed his support. After leaving the conference, I felt good. I felt like we might have made a difference. Then my cell phone rang, it was Tim Miller. After he left the conference, he checked his e-mail. There was an emotional plea from a grandmother in Louisiana. Her 15-year-old grandson had vanished. When will it end? |
