News

SurferQuest to use Internet kiosks to help find missing kids

July 25, 2005

PHILIPSBURG, Penn. - SurferQuest, a supplier of public Internet kiosk systems, announced in a news release it has partnered with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to introduce photos of missing children into its kiosks.

With close to a thousand Internet kiosks nationwide, SurferQuest places its kiosks in high-traffic public areas, such as hotels, resorts, rest areas and Internet cafes.

"More than 100,000 people pass by our kiosks every day. We believe that running these photos can greatly increase the likelihood that a child will be recognized and reunited with their family," said Ron Koning, vice president of SurferQuest.

The missing child photos will rotate on the monitors when the kiosks are not occupied, and capture the attention of the passing audience. When the computer is in use, the system will show missing children on the desktop using NCMEC's Java Banner Link. The SurferQuest Pay-per-Use system will allow free access to report a sighting as well as to learn more details about a particular missing child.

"These photos have remarkable power. In fact, one in six missing children featured in our photo distribution program is recovered as a direct result of someone recognizing their photo and contacting authorities," said Ernie Allen, president and chief executive officer of NCMEC. "We are happy to partner with SurferQuest in the fight to bring more missing children home and reunite more families."