Free Fingerprint Your Child Event at the Presidio

Presidio of San Francisco (May 24, 2011) — As part of National Missing Children’s Day, the Presidio Trust, along with the United States Park Police and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, are holding a free “Fingerprint Your Child” event on Wednesday, May 25 from 8 am to 6 pm at the Walt Disney Family Museum, 104 Montgomery Street on the Presidio’s Main Post.

Officers from the Park Police will be joined by other current and retired law enforcement officers to take the fingerprints, which will then be given to the parents to keep. None of the fingerprints or other personal information collected will be kept or stored by any government agency. The cards include space for parents to add additional information including a physical description, medical and dental records, and even a DNA sample. The card can then be used by any law enforcement agency anywhere in the world to help identify a missing child. In addition, for the first time, photographers from Lifetouch National School Studios will be on hand to make free photo identification cards for children. Lifetouch partners with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to provide photo identification of missing children.

“The child identification kits are an invaluable tool for law enforcement,” says sergeant David Williams of the U.S. Park Police. “With them, we are able to quickly identify children involved in missing or abducted child investigations or other emergencies. When combined with a Smile Safe Kids ID card from Lifetouch, we can get a child’s picture, fingerprints and other information to agencies across the state and have an Amber alert issued as little as 15 minutes after a child is first reported missing.”

The Walt Disney Family Museum will provide fun, animated, educational crafts and activities for kids, and discounted museum admissions for those who take part in the fingerprinting event.

The event is being sponsored by the Presidio Trust, United States Park Police, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, United States Park Police Fraternal Order of Police, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Take 25, and Lifetouch National School Studios.

For more information please contact: Sergeant David Williams at (415) 740-5948 or david_e_williams@nps.gov; or email officer Raquel Lopez-Milano at raquel_lopez_milano@nps.gov.

The Presidio Trust was established by the United States Congress in 1996 to administer the Presidio of San Francisco, an urban national park site that is located at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. The areas overseen by the Trust include expansive open space and spectacular views, a 300-acre historic forest, and rare and endangered plants and wildlife. The park comprises nearly 6 million square feet of buildings, including 469 historic structures that contribute to the Presidio’s status as a National Historic Landmark District. The Presidio is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.