New tool to help find missing kids

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - In a child abduction, every second counts and now the latest iPhone application may help.

According to the FBI a child goes missing every 40 seconds in the U.S., and investigators say the first 24 hours is crucial in finding them. Many parents, like 5-year-old Steven Rigsbee's mom, say losing their kids is their biggest fear.

"If I don't see him I start panicking, I really do," Lucinda Rigsbee said as she watched her son play in the fountain at ABQ Uptown.

Her family does not have a Child ID kit at home, but now there's an app for that. It takes the info from at home kits like fingerprints, important stats and a photo and puts them on the iPhone.

That's something investigators say can make all the difference when it comes to getting your child back.

"The chance of survivability decreases the longer a child is missing, so we have to make sure that parents can have this information to send out to law enforcement as quickly as possible," said FBI Public Affairs Specialist Frank Fisher.

The application is free and can be easily downloaded on the FBI's website. It connects users to the FBI and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in seconds.

It also makes it simple to e-mail a child's stats to local police. Steven's mom said the app is more convenient than an at home kit, and plans on downloading it right away.

"This one's free and it seems user friendly," Rigsbee said. "Plus a lot of people have the iPhone."

Fisher added the FBI does not store children's information, it's only stored on users' phones and then sent to the agency by parents when necessary. The agency is also working on making the app compatible with other phones.