Masons offer free child ID program

A free child identification program will be offered May 20 in Rogers City. The Michigan Child Identification Program, MICHIP, will be available for all Rogers City area families at the Little League fields following the opening day parade at noon and running until 4 p.m. MICHIP is recognized as one of the most complete child recovery and identification program in the nation. The program is sponsored by the Michigan Masons and is in operation throughout Michigan and 12 other states. Locally it will be presented by Rogers Masonic Lodge #493, in cooperation with the Rogers City Police Department, the Presque Isle County Sheriff?s Department and the Michigan State Police. Officers from the various law enforcement agencies will be present to assist.

At the May 20 event, a completed child identification kit will

be given to the parent to take home for safekeeping. Nothing is kept by the Masons except a permission form. If necessary, the parent is able to immediately provide the kit to law enforcement to aid in the recovery of a missing child. The MICHIP process takes about 15 minutes for each child to process through various stations. Material in the completed kit given to the parent includes a color photo, fingerprints, and a brief interview with the child, which captures the appearance, speech, and mannerisms of the child. The kit will also include tooth prints for identification purposes, DNA, and dog scents from saliva.

The MICHIP identification kit is provided free of charge, but a family member must be present during the process. All identifying items generated during the process are given to the family.