Big Turnout for MoChip Program
Hosted By Hazelwood Police & Masons

Melissa Lewis and her children from Anchorage, Alaska, participated in the Missouri Child ID and Protection program held on January 23 at the LDS Church in Hazelwood.  Her three boys, Andrew (age4) Michael (age 10) and Austin (age 15), were among  200+ children who were processed at this event.

 Program co-sponsors were the Hazelwood Police Department and the Missouri Masonic Children's Foundation.

Lewis is familiar with the St. Louis area since her family is originally from here.  But they live in Anchorage now because her husband is stationed there as part of the military.  "I've wanted to have this done for my boys, but I kept missing these types of events.  While we were visiting with relatives this week.  I heard about this MoChip event and decided to bring them over today." said Melissa Lewis.

A line of eager parents and fidgety children began forming about a half-hour before the starting time, so the event organizers began letting them in 15 minutes early.  There was a steady flow of people coming and going during the four-hour period.  And, some of the event staff volunteeres to work overtime until all the children who came were processed, allowing parents to take them a free sealed information kit to keep on hand for emergencies.

The event staff consisted of Hazelwood Volunteers in Police Service (VIP's), Hazelwood Police Explorers, Hazelwood Neighborhood Watch Commission members and local/state freemasons who conduct MoChip programs throughout the state of Missouri.

"I was extremely pleased with how the event staff handled the overwhelming crowd.  Every child who attended the event was processed properly with digital photographs, fingerprints and DNA sampling.  Also, all the parents received a mini-CD disk that contains all the data we gathered which is compatible with the Amber Alert Program, said Sgt. Don Routh, NAT Supervisor/Volunteer Coordinator, Hazelwood Police Department.

According to Nicholas Cichielo, MoCHIP state coordinator, "Information contained on the CD disk inside the kit can be uploaded to the Amber Alert system within a minute and a half.  I know of six children who have been returned to their parents because of the MoCHIP."

Routh went on to say that the MoCHIP program is the best of its kind in the state of Missouri.  "MoCHIP has invested thousands of dollars in the equipment used for this program, but, they do not charge anything for their service," noted Routh.

Since it's inception in August 2005, Missouri Freemasons have processed more than 83,558 children at 514 events across the state.  The program is designed to identify youngsters from newborns on up to college students.  "At our event in Hazelwood we even opened it up to people with at-risk family members who have Alzheimer's disease,  Down syndrome or other mental disabilities.  No one was turned away," said Routh.

Ten stations were set up at Hazelwood’s MoCHIP program to collect data on the children’s weight, height and hair/eye color. Digital photos were taken as well as fingerprint scans of each participant. In addition, full dental impressions and other non-invasive DNA sampling was done. All this information was then burned onto a mini-CD disk and put inside a sealed kit along with two laminated ID cards. The whole process took less than 20 minutes for each child.

Those who missed the first MoCHIP program in Hazelwood may have another opportunity to have their children ID’ed as a safeguard measure. “Since we had such a great response this first-time around, I’ve been asked by the MoCHIP organizers to host another event in the fall. MoCHIP is a valuable tool for law enforcement, so we’ve tentatively scheduled it for October 9. We’ll be sending out more information as we get closer to the date,” said Routh.

PHOTO CAPTIONS:

Photo A- Melissa Lewis is standing behind her eldest son, Austin, who gets his fingerprints scanned by Anita Bean, a MoCHIP staff member. Austin’s brothers, Andrew and Michael, are standing next to him and watching.

Photo B-A large crowd showed up to participate in the MoCHIP program hosted by the Hazelwood police.

Photo C- a MoCHIP staff member prepares to bum a mini-CD disk so it can be put inside the sealed, information kit for each parent and/or guardian.

Photo D-A profile shot of McCayla Murphy is being taken by William Pikers, MoCHIP volunteer and Hazelwood Neighborhood Watch Commissioner -Ward 1, while her father looks on.

Photo E-a MoCHIP volunteer shows Ryan how to bite down on a soft waver to get his dental impressions and DNA sampling.