Parents clamor for child ID kits after Devlin case

ST. LOUIS -- In the months since two kidnapped Missouri boys were found alive, parents have been lining up for identification kits in case their own children go missing.

And what was once a set of fingerprints inked on a card has evolved into a high-tech offering, where families can preserve digital photos, even a DNA sample, to give to authorities if a child should vanish. The identification kits are often provided for free by community, charitable or law enforcement organizations.

The safe return of Abby Woods, an infant kidnapped from her Franklin County home late last year, spurred some increased interest. But things really took off in January after police found Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby in the Kirkwood apartment of Michael Devlin. Devlin pleaded guilty to kidnapping and sexual abuse charges last week and received multiple life sentences.

Nick Cichielo is the state coordinator for the Missouri Child Identification Program (MoCHIP), run by the Masonic fraternity. He said demand for the program's free kits more than doubled in the past year, to 26,000.

"Right in January, after the abduction, it went through the ceiling," he said.

The MoCHIP program provides families with laminated ID cards and a computer disc that law enforcement agencies can read. The disc includes digital photos, digital fingerprints, child information and emergency contacts. The Masons also have children take a dental bite impression, which Cichielo said captures a DNA sample and can provide a source for scent, if needed by canine search teams.

Karl Lund, 32, of the St. Louis suburb of O'Fallon, recently had ID cards made up for his children, Nathan, 3, and Erin, 1, through the Hornbeck Foundation when his family attended a chili cook-off. Shawn and his parents helped to make the ID cards at the event.

"If the unthinkable happens, we have an identification card to hand off to officials," he said.

Lund said the abductions of Shawn and Ben made him realize something can happen to a child in a split second.

"This really brings it closer to home," he said.