I felt really badly last night after writing the article about how the May 2010 Woodstock Police Department report to the City Council had not contained any mention of the Beth Bentley missing-person case. Why? I had tossed a barb at the PD not only for May, but also for my anticipation that they might cop out (no pun intended) and fail to mention the Bentley case in the June 2010 report.
After all, it was a May police case; right? Why mention it in the June report?
When I reviewed the Agenda for last night's City Council meeting, I saw that the June 2010 police department report was indicated as having been transmitted to the City Council. I hadn't noticed it in the City Council packet at the library and wondered if the entry on the Agenda was an error.
So this morning I stopped back at the Library and found the June 2010 P.D. report in the City Council packet for last night's meeting.
In the Investigations Division section there is a short mention of the Beth Bentley case. It says, basically, that many hours have been put in on the case, it's still open, and more hours are to be put in.
Beth Bentley has been missing now for over eight weeks. When the transmittal letter was written on July 9, she had been missing for six weeks. And that's all that can be reported to the City Council and the public?
The case is apparently still classified only as a Missing Person case. I'm trying to learn from the P.D. what "Endangered" means. It shouldn't be a state secret. It's standard police jargon for something, but what?
I would think that "endangered" would be used when a missing person needs medication or has a mental illness or has Alzheimer's or some similar condition. What could "endangered" mean in Beth's case?
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Endangered Missing - Just what the term says. This is used when a person disappears under suspicious circumstances, or has a condition which may endanger their welfare, or when someone is believed to be in danger. This is used very often with children, even in cases of possible Non-Family Abduction or Family Abductions.
Endangered Runaway - Used when a child leaves home voluntarily. Due to their minor status, they are also considered endangered.
Family Abduction - This is used when a child (a person under the age of 18) has been known to have been taken by a non-custodial family member. The vast majority of these cases involve parents, although other family may be involved.
Non-Family Abduction - This is used when a child is taken by a non-family member. However, not all suspected Non-Family Abductions are labeled this way. It was overused in the past and now is rarely used unless someone saw the child taken by someone else.
Involuntary The adult version of Non-Family Abduction. Used when an adult is believed to have been taken against their will.
Missing - Used usually in cases where adults have vanished and there is no evidence of foul play. Children rarely use this one - a case that would be missing for an adult is usually Endangered Missing for a child.
Lost/Injured Missing This is also called Catastrophe. Used when someone is injured and missing because of that condition, lost due to some sort of natural disaster, or lost in a situation where it is likely an accident occured, such as a hiking trip. Infrequently used.
NCMEC The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the largest missing child clearinghouse. It is a not-for-profit organization.
Age-progression A usually computerized image showing how a person missing for a great length of time may look today. Sometimes abbreviated as "AP".
NCIC The National Crime Information Center. It enters missing people under five categories - Endangered, Catastrophe, Juvenile, Involuntary, and Disability. Minors have been required to be entered into the database since the early 90's. Most minors, regardless of circumstances, are placed in Juvenile.
UFAP A warrant issued by the FBI for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Used to get the FBI involved in a missing person's case.
Hague Treaty A treaty signed by many countries. Drafted in 1980, it states that a child taken out of the country of their residence must be returned to that country to decide custody matters of the child. Although this is widely signed and invoked often, it is rarely used.
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