The search for missing persons took a leap from the back of a milk carton to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office's Facebook page Thursday.
Sheriff Bob Reid said his office had successfully used the social media site to help catch felons over the past year, getting more than 30,000 hits and many tips from the 3,770 people who "like" the page.
Using the platform to locate missing persons was a logical next, said County Executive Ed FitzGerald, who attended a press conference unveiling the new feature.
The idea came, in part, from suggestions by a Cleveland commission appointed last year after 11 women were found murdered in a home on Imperial Avenue.
Cleveland police said many of the families had not reported their loved ones missing. Some of the families said they felt police discouraged them from making reports because the women were adults and had mental health or substance abuse problems. They said they were left to search on their own for their mothers, daughters and sisters.
The commission, which was asked to look into how the city handled missing persons and sex crimes cases, suggested that the search for missing persons move to a countywide or regional platform.
"When individuals are missing," Reid said. "It's a concern for all of us."
Mary Bounds, a commission member and an assistant safety director for Cleveland called the site "wonderful."
Detectives from each of the 59 police departments in the county will be able to post profiles of up to 10 people reported missing in their communities. People with information on the cases are urged to contact detectives handling the cases.
Reid said he expects departments will post the most current and pressing cases.
Reid's office is waiting for an opinion from the county prosecutor's office about whether posting the pictures of juveniles is appropriate but thinks it will be allowed -- which is especially important since Facebook users are in line demographically with young folks who go missing.
When asked how Cleveland would choose which 10 profiles to feature, department spokesman Sammy Morris said since the city has so many missing persons reported -- about six each day -- they would like to link from the County's Facebook page the city's website to "allow access to all of the individuals reported missing in the City of Cleveland."
The city, he said, is working on getting pictures and profiles of the missing on its site.
The department started posting profiles Thursday. The first person posted was Lee Panter, a 26-year-old man missing from Euclid since August.
Also on the site are the familiar faces of Amanda Berry, who has been missing since 2003, and Georgina "Gina" DeJesus, who has been missing since 2004.
Reid said a plan is in the works to feature some cold cases, though the focus will be primarily on those recently reported missing.
FitzGerald said though the missing persons initiative was underway before he was elected, he supported it and said the county would continue to roll out collaborative law enforcement initiatives.
