Kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart partners with app designed to find missing people faster

While she was being held captive, Elizabeth Smart says she envisioned her rescue like something out of an action movie. I imagined it bouncing off the ground.

But that’s not what happened.

Instead, in 2003, nine months after Smart was kidnapped from his childhood bedroom, two different couples saw a suspicious man with two women at a bus stop. Both couples called the police, who responded quickly. The man, Smart’s captor Brian David Mitchell and his accomplice Wanda Versey, were taken into custody after officers began suspecting a third woman was the missing Smart.

“[My rescue] just a normal person paying attention and seeing something weird [and] Smart told me on a Zoom video call.

It’s been almost 20 years since Smart was rescued, and she’s spent most of that time advocating, including raising awareness about the missing person situation, educating people, and developing resources for survivors. Dedicated to activity.

Having experienced the power and potential of community, Smart was immediately intrigued by Guardian. This is an app designed to assist in the search for missing persons, he developed by Q5id. The developer told Smart he wants to harness the power of everyday people and communities.

“The story of Elizabeth Smart is one of the most famous child abductions in the world,” Becky Wanta, Q5id’s chief information technology officer, told me in an email interview. continues to make great strides towards the safety and advocacy of missing children and the victimization and exploitation of sexual assault.She has been an absolute inspiration to us and we hope to expand and our mission.

What is Guardian App?

The Guardian app, which launched nationwide in November, aims to help families find missing loved ones faster. If someone goes missing, users can create alerts that are immediately sent to other nearby users.

When it comes to missing persons, every second counts. From the first 24 hours of her to him, if no one is found within 48 hours, the chances of finding a living person are greatly reduced.

“The sooner we are notified about a missing child or loved one, the more likely we are to find it,” says Smart.

She emphasized that the Guardian app is not intended to compete with the Amber Alert System. The Amber Alert System is where she started her advocacy after being rescued. However, amber alerts have certain criteria that must be met before the alert is raised. For example, a missing person must be under the age of 17, there must be some evidence that the child is in danger, and law enforcement must provide sufficient descriptive information about the missing child to issue a warning. Must have the child’s name and information already registered with the National Crime Information Center.

“If you have to wait, it’s eating up a very small window of opportunity to find someone,” says Smart. [the Guardian app] Almost closely related to amber alerts. [a notification] leave immediately. ”

So the Guardian app can be used in a runaway situation, a loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia, or suspected abduction.

How does the app work?

The Guardian App is designed not only to harness the power of ordinary people. for everyday people. While some people have the time and means to volunteer in search efforts, many others are balancing this with a full-time work week, family and daily routines. Smart says the Guardian app is for them.

“It’s a quick and easy way to make a big difference,” says Smart.

When you download the Guardian app, you’ll need to allow location services to receive alerts.

Enter your phone number and the app will send you a verification code. From there, you’ll be asked to scan your face, left and right palms, ID or passport using your device’s camera. Also, you should record a simple video and audio sample. From there, you can log into the app without a password by scanning your face or palm.

Even if you have not subscribed to the premium tier of the app, you will still be asked to verify your identity. If you finally want to leave the app, you can contact us at privacy@q5id.com to request that your data be deleted. (See Q5id’s full privacy statement here.)

The verification process is meant to prevent predators from joining your app. Individuals who wish to join the Guardian community are checked against the National Sex Offender Registry upon signup and periodically thereafter. According to Q5id’s website, people registered on the National Sex Offender Registry are not allowed to participate in the Guardian community.

“Your information is safe,” Wanta said. “This is a community of trusted, verified individuals. We only store what you need to know who you are and the information to help you find your missing loved ones. We will never sell or share your information.”

According to Wanta, biometrics and identification help secure the systems users access, but biometric information is not stored. Additionally, data in Q5id’s database is end-to-end encrypted to protect against theft, misuse, or reverse engineering.

Send alert

To notify the Guardian community that a loved one is missing, you must be a Guardian Plus user. Guardian Plus is free for his first month, after that it costs $4 a month. A portion of the proceeds will go to the app’s partners, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the American Dementia Association, and the Boy Scouts, according to the website. Girls Club of America.

Q5id recommends pre-populating your loved one’s profile. For Guardian Plus subscribers, here’s how to issue alerts:

1. Set up a missing person profile in the app

2. Tap Create an alertis under loved one tab or Alert tab

3. Choose your loved one’s profile

Four. Add details such as what the person was wearing or identifying marks.

Five. Please enter the location where the person went missing

6. Tap send alert

The app will also notify you if a volunteer responds to your alert.

Receive alerts

Both Guardian Plus and Guardian Volunteers (free tier users) can view alerts issued by other members. Get geolocation alerts near you when you opt-in to push notifications in the app.

While the action-movie-style Rescue makes good movies, Smart says the power of everyday citizens shouldn’t be underestimated.

“If we keep our eyes open and pay attention, how many more [missing people] Rather than wait for the superhero to swoop in, can we take it home?”