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Show PaS 2 THE DAILY M R U I). Home and f uiult Lipu. WrdnrMbt. October 23, -- 19 Protecfinq children has become a national obsession crimes against children are committed most often by family members and acquaintances, and abductions by nonrelatives are rarer still. While the number of missing children increased sixfold between 1982 and 1995 from about the vast 82.01) to SOO.tXiO majority of thoe children were runaways or were taken by relatives, according to the National Center for Mising and Exploited Children. Since 1982. when the center started keeping statistics, each year between 3300 and 4.500 children are abducted by nonfamily mem- bers and released within M minconfident utes. Each vear 200 to '300 to just likely children are taken for a long time or never Wagner, are KATHY BOCCELLA By Knigha-RidcJ- ef Newspapers PHILADELPHIA Along with their backpacks and luiwh boxes, Donna Gola made sure her children had one other essential item before starti.ig school this ear: ID cards with their fingerprints and mug shots. She carries the card in case her son and daughter, ages 7 and 9. are kidnapped or v.orse. Besides the pictures and prints, the cards contain such information as height, weight and hair color that would help police locate or identify the children. and educated is most get out of a dangerous situation. Jan founder rf"rn?, of A child who is Safe-T-Chi- !d It's not hysterical parenting." said Gola. a kindergarten teacher. "It's trying to be safe." Not everyone is as cautious a Gola. but for parents of the '90s their children has protecting become a national obsession. Fingerprinting and videotaping of children are as routine for some kid as getting their shots. Parents can buy home DNA identification kits, wrist alarms, beepers and books and enough child-safet- y tapes to build a bunker. Many parents say they are haunted by the seemingly endless news of another trusted coach who molested a student, another kidnapping at a day care center, another child w ho simply anished. "It's something that I think about all the time." said Jude Augustus, who alo lives in suburban Philadelphia with her children, " ages 6 and 8. I'm alwavs watching out for their safety. You can't trust people the way you used to be able to." But are such fears justified? By now most people know that sex " Kand are killed, accord- ing to statistics. "You need to keep this problem in perspective," said Ernie Allen, president of the center. "Parents needn't be terrorized or paralyzed by fear. Parents need to recognize that the kinds of things they are most terrified about do not happen that frequently." W hile most parents believe the number of missing children is increasing, experts say it is largely a result of greater public aw areness and media reporting. Polly Klaas. Adam Walsh. Megan Kanka. W ho doesn't shiver at the mention of those names and the thought that one day their child's face could be plastered on a missing poster? "When I watched television in the 1950s (the) news was on for 15 minutes," said Kenneth V. Lan-ninan FBI agent with the Missing and Exploited Children Task Force in Stafford. Va. "In most cities today news comes on at 4 p.m. and goes off at 7:30 p.m. Proportionately speaking, the same amount (of abductions) may be going on. tut when it happens today it is highly unlikely we're g. 9 I . 1 n. V mile aw ay from trie elementary school and I w a&ed with another friend, just the two of us. I would never consider doing that with my child." said Piatt, who has three children. Augustus, Gola and Piatt are prograduates of the gram, which offers workshops. ID cards, a book and tape of songs such as "Trickv People," "Help Me Operator." "G.O.M.F. (Get Outta My Face)" and "My Body's Mine" sung by a yellow dinosaur. The organization was founded by Jan Wagner, an Austin, Texas, businesswoman and mother of two who said the program is aimed at empowering children. "A child who is confident and educated is most likely to get out of a dangerous situation." said Wagner, who started after getting separated from her son for about 30 minutes at an amusement park. The nationwide group, has pressed for legislation requiring schools to offer child safety classes, now required in at least three states. Other safety educators take a more aggressive approach than Wagner. In his book, "Missing! Stranger Abduction," Robert Stu-bsuggests parents teach children to escape from a car trunk, rip out a car's ignition wires, signal SOS '' M ''') - downstairs? - - the numbers of missing children increases, con- - their children safe and away cemed parents are wilting to try anything to keep in their own home. As with a light switch, bite off an attacker's ear and make their own noses bleed to write a message in blood, among other things. The former California police officer dismisses criticism that his methods are extreme and could do more to frighten children than to help them. "If that's what it came down to. if r it was a matter of (learning these tactics) or not hav ing your child back, that's not extreme at all." he said. Or realistic, according to "How many kids will have the herew ithal under stress and pressure to pull car ignition wires out? 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In all my years I SPECIAL TO THE HERALD UTAH COUNTY Who is this don't know of any. lYoblem is, tliey always go old paI..."out of sight... out of mind'" ihS, its your furnaco. wlien you least exiioct tliem to! V- than the leafy , middle-clas- s Philadelphia suburb of West Chester, w here Gola lives with her husband and children. She can't remember a local child ever being kidnapped or killed. Yet, like many nerv ous parents. Gola I So... how is your old pal you keep I - - ',. 1 No more L not going to hear about it." Lannmg also said that studies suggest that fear of children being kidnapped may be a basic, primal worry for parents and not based on the actual risk. That does little to soothe anxious parents, who are convinced there are kidnapers lurking behind depart men! store clothing racks and waiting at bus stops. 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