Lost Kidz App Launches to Provide Emergency Mobile Alert System for Missing Children

JERSEY, United Kingdom, August 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Appiness Ltd., today launched Lost Kidz, a mobile app that provides parents and caregivers with an instant alert system for kids who are lost or missing. Addressing every parent's worst nightmare of losing a child, Lost Kidz uses location-based technology to send out an emergency alert to other app users in the immediate vicinity with details about the child and location last seen, providing an instant community of concerned citizens who can aid in the recovery effort.

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According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, approximately 800,000 kids under the age of 18 are reported missing each year, averaging out to 2,185 kids per day. While there are existing systems to publicly alert citizens and law enforcement agencies to missing children, oftentimes, they don't reach people quickly enough to enact within those first crucial hours after the child disappears. Lost Kidz eliminates any and all delays and gets people to enact quickly by providing immediate and continuing alerts, creating entire communities who are looking for the child.

How Lost Kidz Works

The split second a child goes missing, parents send a Lost Kidz alert through the app using the profile they've already set up with the child's gender, height, weight, eye and hair color, and even a current photo of the child and/or parent. When sending the alert, parents can quickly add relevant details like where the child went missing and what he/she was wearing and all Lost Kidz app users within a one-mile radius will immediately be informed. If the child isn't recovered within five minutes, the alert goes to a wider radius of Lost Kidz app users and progressively expands in five-minute increments, eventually reaching a 25-mile radius.

Following are additional key features of Lost Kidz:

• Information Record: If a Lost Kidz user has useful information which may help to trace the child, this can be texted from within the app, directly to the parent. This also provides an important log for law enforcement officials.
• Constant Contact: If a Lost Kidz community member has found the child, they can instantly call the parent. In addition to talking directly to the issuer of the alert, the app user has a photo so that they can confirm the identity of the parent involved.
• Parent Identification: If someone spots the missing child with an adult who is not the person who issued the alert, this may be another Lost Kidz user who is holding the child until the parent arrives. With Lost Kidz, each user is equipped to make an informed decision about how best to react: whether to approach the adult, call the parent or keep watch until the issuer of the alert arrives.
• Recovery Alert: When the child has been reunited with the parent, a message can be delivered to everyone to confirm that the child has been returned safely.

"As a father of six and having experienced the trauma of losing one of my children for a terrifying 30 minutes, I knew I had to take advantage of technology to harness the power of our own communities," said Stephen Fern, CEO of Appiness Ltd. and co-creator of Lost Kidz. "While we hope no one ever has to send out an alert, if every parent and caregiver has Lost Kidz on their phones, they can guarantee an entire community will be looking for their child in the awful event they do ever need to use it."

Lost Kidz also has the full support of the American Humane Association, one of the most highly respected organizations in the U.S. whose focus is on the safety and welfare of children.

"The American Humane Association and Lost Kidz are working together to build communities of parents and caregivers across the U.S. who are well informed about creating a safe environment for our children to play, grow and learn," said Robin Ganzert, Ph.D., President and CEO, American Humane Association. "The stronger the Lost Kidz community we can build together, the safer our children will be. We urge everyone to download the app and create immediate safety networks to protect our children." 

Pricing

Lost Kidz is free for anyone who wants to receive alerts and be part of the Lost Kidz community. The ability to sent out alerts costs $0.99 annually, as an in-app purchase. The number of alerts parents can send out during the subscription period is unlimited. The Android version is in development and will be available later this year.

Lost Kidz urges everyone to spread the word and create safer communities around the world. Anyone who wishes to join the movement can download Lost Kidz from iTunes. People can also raise awareness through their communities and social networks with this embeddable Spark Call-to-Action widget containing relevant information about the app: http://bit.ly/LostKidz.

About Appiness Ltd.

Appiness Ltd is headquartered in Jersey, United Kingdom and was founded by two brothers, Darren and Stephen Fern, whose sole mission is to build the Lost Kidz App community around the world. By using the power of community, the app creates immediate safety networks to ensure the protection of children. Lost Kidz is supported by the American Humane Association and a portion of profits made from all app downloads will be donated to child welfare charities around the world. For more information, please visit www.lost-kidz.com on the Web, on Facebook or Twitter.

For information, contact:
Jeana Tahnk
[email protected] 
 

SOURCE Appiness, Ltd.