KIDS' ID PHOTOS AVAILABLE SUNDAY AT KMART

Cape Girardeau's first-ever KidCare Photo ID event Sunday nearly coincides with the sixth anniversary of the abduction of Gina Dawn Brooks of Fredericktown.

It was Aug. 5, 1989, when 13-year-old Brooks went out and never came home. Years of searching and pleas from relatives yielded no valuable information, and no one knows if she is alive.

On Sunday, from noon to 3 at Kmart, store employees and the Cape Girardeau Jaycees will work together to help parents who someday may face a similar situation. At no charge, parents can obtain free, close-up photographs of their children, along with the children's weight and height and a booklet to keep updated information.

It's part of a national event to provide parents with personal safety IDs of their children in case of an emergency. Statistics from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children show that one in seven missing children is found because of a photograph distributed by the center.

"This event will make it so that parents don't have to think if something happens because the information will be right there," ID program co-chairwoman Kathy Easley said. "They won't be in a bad situation trying to remember the last time they measured the child or find a good picture."

Easley said the Jaycees decided to support KidCare because the organization thinks children are America's future and should be protected. Jaycees support several events benefiting children each year.

So does Kmart, assistant manager Tonis Barkley said. Give Our Kids A World, for example, raises money to help children in need.

"I think KidCare is an exceptional idea," she said. "There are so many problems going on that you have to start by helping the kids."

Children of any age are eligible to participate in Sunday's event.

From January to April of this year, 29 Missouri children were abducted and became victims of violence.

Most of the missing children in Cape Girardeau are runaways or parental abduction cases. However, Sheriff John Jordan issued a release in May warning parents to keep close watch on their children in the summer, when children are outside more.