Two Private Groups Organize Searches for Wednesday
-->By: Priscilla Luong and Laura Kellerman
Updated: January 18, 2011
An organized search party will head out Wednesday, meeting at the Colorado City Civic Center in the morning. Volunteers must be 18 years or older, in good health, and dressed properly for the weather and terrain.
Brad Dennis, the Director of Search Operations for KlaasKids Foundation’s National Search Center for Missing Children said met with law enforcement throughout the day to formulate the search plan.
The Laura Recovery Center, based outside Houston in Friendswood, Texas, organizes community-based searches using very specific mapping and communication techniques.
The organization was founded in 1998, a year following the deadly abduction of 12-year-old Laura Smither. Smither's body was recovered 17 days after her disappearance. The organization was established to honor the volunteers, document and publish their effective search methods, and educate families, communities, and law enforcement in working together to prevent abductions.
The KlaasKids Foundation was established in 1994 in an effort to help protect children. The group's founder, Marc Klaas, is the father of murder victim Polly Hannah Klaas. He's regularly appears on the Nancy Grace show to discuss Hailey's case.
Dennis has over twenty years of experience in search and rescue and disaster response, according to klaaskids.org. He has managed search efforts for over 60 missing/abducted children around the country.
Officials now say the information that leads to Hailey's safe return is $15,000.
