WHAT YOU CAN DO

To be the most effective, the A Child Is Missing alert system has to be able to call all the houses in a neighborhood, said Fort Pierce Police Chief Sean Baldwin.

"The operators don't have access to unpublished and cell phone numbers," Baldwin said, "so we really need those people to get their numbers into the system."

Baldwin said phone numbers supplied to A Child Is Missing are "available only to law enforcement, not to solicitors."

To register an unpublished home or cell phone number, visit www.achildismissing.org.

Here's how the "A Child Is Missing" alert program works:

• When police receive a missing person report, the first phone call is to a technician who compiles all available information, including name, age, gender, nationality, height and weight, hair and eye color, clothing description, unique physical characteristics and any medical/psychological conditions.

• Using a sophisticated mapping system and a database of phone numbers of the residents and businesses, the technician sends out up to 1,000 phone calls a minute with a custom-recorded message detailing the missing person's description, last known whereabouts and a phone number to be called by anyone with information.

• Once the person is found, police contact A Child Is Missing again, and the updated information is passed on to everyone who received phone calls.