Code Adam @ Grande Villas

Code Adam is a "missing child" safety program in the United States and Canada, originally created by Wal-Mart retail stores in 1994. It is named in memory of Adam Walsh, the 6-year-old son of John Walsh (the host of Fox's America's Most Wanted.). Adam was abducted from a Sears department store in Florida in 1981 and was later found murdered. Today, many department stores, retail shops, shopping malls, supermarkets, amusement parks, and museums participate in the Code Adam program. Legislation enacted by Congress in 2003 now mandates that all federal office buildings employ the program.

Companies that do implement the program generally place a Code Adam decal at the front of the business. Employees at these businesses are trained to do the following six steps according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children:

• If a visitor reports a child is missing, a detailed description of the child and what he or she is wearing is obtained. Additionally, all exterior access to the building is locked and monitored; anyone approaching a door is turned away.

• The employee goes to the nearest in-house telephone and pages Code Adam, describing the child’s physical features and clothing. As designated employees monitor front entrances, other employees begin looking for the child.

• If the child is not found within 10 minutes, law enforcement is called.

• If the child is found and appears to have been lost and unharmed, the child is reunited with the searching family member.

• If the child is found accompanied by someone other than a parent or legal guardian, reasonable efforts to delay their departure will be used without putting the child, staff, or visitors at risk. Law enforcement will be notified and given details about the person accompanying the child.

The Code Adam page will be canceled after the child is found or law enforcement arrives.

We had a Code Adam here at Grande Villas on Saturday, September 25th. The guest was leaving, so there door was left ajar on the 1st floor. Their one year old got out crawled down the hall and up three flights of stairs. The parents were frantic and came to the front desk where Denise Abreu, a Front Desk Supervisor, made the call over the radio. Within seconds the entire building was surrounded by grounds, engineers, and public area employees, and within five minutes Taiwan Bryant, Public Area Supervisor, found the little boy. We are all very proud of the quick response, and of course that everything worked out well.