We hear on the news now and again about children that are kidnapped. Sometimes they are found alive, often not. Sometimes it takes months to find their corpses (the recent case of Caylee Anthony‎ comes to mind).

Tonight we heard about three young women who were missing for 10 years, found in a house just three miles from their homes. Elizabeth Smart was missing for 9 months and found just 18 miles from her home.

Every year, countless people -- usually children -- are kidnapped and are often either raped and murdered, or sold into human trafficking.

But when they are kidnapped, authorities often don't have a clue as to where they are.

My idea then is this:

Why not embed all children with some sort of microchip that could aid in locating them should they go missing? I mean, we put microchips into dogs -- so why not people?

Now, for it to work as a homing device, it would have to have a battery. If it were left on all the time, it would go dead in months. But I would bet there are some batteries that could last for years. What I envision is that when a child goes missing, a special signal would be transmitted that would "wake up" the battery to full life, and then it would begin transmitting its homing beacon.

We could even have the battery replaced when the child reaches, say, five years of age, 10 years of age, and 15 years of age. We think nothing of vaccinating children. We should think of microchipping them too.

Most people who go missing are within miles of where they live. Hence, the signal to wake up the microchip would not need to done over hundreds or thousands of miles. It would be done in a radius of, say, 25 miles of where the person lived or was last seen.

With all of the technology available to us today, it seems so oddly old-fashioned and out-dated to think that we have no way to find people who go missing. We have nothing more to go on to find someone than did our ancestors who lived 5,000 years ago.

I'll pass.

Why?

You prefer the alternative -- people getting kidnapped and murdered and we don't have a clue where they are?

I prefer privacy.
Governments abuse anything and everything just because they can.

Yikes! A proposal like that would sent the righties into a tailspin. They'd think it's some government plot to track people etc.much like they think it's already being done via cell phones. (no offense oskar )

The fundies would think it's the end times with the mark of the beast.

Both would use it as an excuse to buy more guns.

Actually, it's been the corporate righties who wanted to "chip" humans until they ran into the religious righties.

While I understand and agree with oskar's preference for personal privacy, I'm thinking that privacy does not [or maybe should not] extend to vulnerable young children ~ my initial reaction is that, as a parent, I would do anything to keep my kidlets safe ~ but I need to think thru whether microchipping is "a step too far" ~

Sooz

Those chips have been linked to cancer.

A lot more study would have to be done, definitely including any negative physical effects ~ what I need to debate with myself is the core concept of chipping a child ~ I'll have some time today on my drives to/from school to think about this ~

Sooz

This is not a privacy issue, or the government tracking us, because the government wouldn't be embedding the devices -- the parents would be.

And once fully activated, the batteries only last a few days. It could only be used once and only for a few days. Once people are educated to this fact, they would see it to be a good idea.

People are tracked day and night right now by carrying their cell phones around with them and people don't seem to have a problem with that.

My 82 yo friend Ray's wife just died of Alzheimer's Disease. A few years ago Ray's older brother attended a Phillies game with him. His family worried after he didn't arrive home in an hour or so. The next day the state police found him in Massachusetts.

Ray has a tracking ap on his I-phone. His son knows where he is at all times.

That is great....unless he loses his phone, is in an "dead" area or is kidnapped and his phone is thrown away.

I don't think the son is worrying about his dad being kidnapped, but more concerned about driving to Massachusetts. LOL!!!

This solution will NOT work for a kidnapped child obviously. You'd get a last reading and that's it.

We don't have many dead areas on the East Coast, btw.

So now parents who wish to do this would have to learn electronics engineering, computer engineering, programming and then learn surgery in their spare time.
A slam dunk, I should think.

Anything that works once and then only for a few days is worthless in my opinion ~ as I said above, a lot more study is necessary ~

Sooz

That's great! When driving to Alabama we hit tons of dead areas with the different terrains.

Heck yeah! First deck your kids out in their bullet proof clothing, stick chips into them and maybe a couple of radio transmitters tucked into their clothing. And then you could maybe put flashing lights on their heads so driver would notice them and not run them over. A full alarm system would be a good idea - anyone touches them and bells whistles and sirens go off and maybe a lightning rod attachment ....

Or you could recognise that its impossible, fruitless and potentially harmful to try and make your children perfectly safe. Tragedies happen. That's part of the deal you have to accept when you have children.

To the bolded: people (adults) have the option of not carrying their cellphones around with them if they don't want to be tracked. You can't do that if you have a chip embedded in you.

Chop off your hand?

Heck, while we're at it, why not brain chips to make sure no one has any improper thoughts?

I always carry a roll of aluminum foil with me.

To make a new hat if necessary?

Are you making fun of me?

Moi?

Worthless?! Are you serious?! It's the first few days when a child is kidnapped that are the most critical. Statistically, if a child is not found within the first few days, they will likely be found dead.

I agree that a lot more study is needed in order to perfect the system. But in the meantime, we should do nothing? What's wrong with having doctors implant homing signals into children so they can be found if they are kidnapped?

Oskar, please go into a hole. With every single post of yours, you think you're so cute and clever. But you're the only one patting yourself on the back. You annoy me. When you are ready to have meaningful discussions, then I will discuss things with you. But if all you are going to do is post cutsie posts all the time, I can't be bothered.