Phone App Can Help if Child Disappears

Technology is making a new inroad to parenting, helping in an emergency. Polly?s Guardian Angel is a smartphone application for both Android and the iPhone that sends out a parent-activated alert if their child goes missing.

The app is named for Marc Klaas’s daughter Polly, a 12-year old California girl who was kidnapped and murdered in 1993.

Upon activation, the app notifies every other app user within five miles, providing a picture of the missing child. And it starts a countdown for the parent.

“You turn around and they’re not there and you panic. I mean, just panic. You almost lose your mind for a minute,? said Sandy Shores, a mother of three girls in Bend. She plans on adding the app to her phone. Besides having potentially thousands of eyes looking for her child, Shores is attracted to the idea of having a guide in an emergency.

“It actually walks you through next steps, everything you need to do, within the first hour, first 15 minutes, first two hours,? said Shores.

Polly’s Guardian is not the only app providing this type of service. It depends on a large number of users in a small area to be effective. It’s $4.99 on iTunes and as of Friday morning, free on Android, but Klaas says that will change.

“We have to charge for it to be able to support for the fulfillment of the app,? said Marc Klaas.

Shore said she’ll look for free options, but if this is the one that takes off…

“I would pay for it, for sure — if it meant my children would be found right away, it’s worth it,? said Shore.