ATA Member Carrier Gordon Trucking Helps Find Missing Children

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Gordon Trucking Inc., a member of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), cooperates with the Washington State Patrol to help find missing or abducted children, through a program called Homeward Bound. The State Patrol places posters of missing children on the sides of Gordon Trucking's trailers to widen the exposure and heighten visibility of the cases.

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"The Homeward Bound Program exemplifies a partnership between government and the private sector that can truly make a difference," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. "I commend the efforts of Gordon Trucking and the Washington State Patrol, and pray all of these children are found."

The company's involvement in Homeward Bound has grown since the programs start in 2006. The company now has nearly 70 trailers that display a missing child poster.

The Washington State Patrol uses a host of factors to select the missing child cases in the program. In order for a case to be an active investigation, a law enforcement agency must take a missing persons report and enter the individual into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. After selecting the case, the State Patrol works with Gordon Trucking to place a poster of the missing child onto a truck route that corresponds with the child's suspected whereabouts.

"The Washington State Patrol approached us in the spring of 2006 about posting photos of missing children on our trailers," said Chief Operating Officer Steve Gordon. "As a locally owned and operated company, we were happy to help the state and the communities that Gordon Trucking serves."

At present, the state patrol has 19 missing children in the program. Each child has its own poster that includes the name of the child, contact information for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and two photos – one from the time of disappearance and another that is age-progressed.