Child identification program in Otisfield

OTISFIELD — Several Otisfield parents can feel a little more safe now that their kids have participated in the Maine Child Identification Program (MECHIP) sponsored by the Masons’ Crooked River Lodge #152 A.F. & A.M. On March 30, the Crooked River Masons held the free program at the Otisfield Community School.

The comprehensive child recovery and identification program provides tools to help law enforcement find and identify a lost or missing child. Families received a package of identifying information including a DVD of their child that can quickly be distributed to media; a laminated photograph ID; fingerprints, and a cheek swab containing DNA material. None of the information was copied and all of the identifying materials were given to the child’s family.

“We’ll take this home and put it in a safe place,” said parent Jo-Linn Tibbetts, who participated with her sons Wyatt and Marshall. “Hopefully, we’ll never need it.”

That’s what the Crooked River Masons hope, too.

MECHIP is part of the international Masonic chip network that has identified more than 275,000 kids since its inception in 1988. In Maine, more than 35,000 children have participated in the free program. Like other lodges, the Crooked River Masons donated resources to make this service available to local parents.

The Crooked River Masons will offer this same program at the Songo Locks Elementary School and Harrison Elementary School in late May. These schools will provide parents with information about the events.

Committed to community service, the Masonic fraternity is the oldest and largest fraternal order in the world. For more information about becoming a Mason, contact Will Denison at 712-5740 or Tom Nolan at 807-2988 or tjncrna@gmail.com.

Photo:

THINK INK — One student is helped with the fingerprinting process.