This paper is a proposal for a system that would enable amateur radio operators to pinpoint the location of an abducted child. Where possible the system uses equipment and protocol that is pervasive throughout the amateur radio community such as 2-m equipment, digital communications, direction finding equipment, APRS and ham emergency preparedness. This system does require that the abducted child be carrying a special device. While this paper does not provide specifications for the actual device, a set of functional requirements are proposed in the hope that some qualified amateur will attempt to prototype and build a child location device (CLD). Parent's and children's privacy are given due consideration throughout this paper. A number of security controls and mechanisms are included to ensure that police are the only party that is able to activate a child's device; and they must obtain key information from the parent before they are able to activate. The security controls aim to reduce the possibility of abuse, protecting the system and ultimately the child carrying a device (CLD). Finally, the appendix suggests an operations framework to be used in a DF enabled search for an abducted child. This framework example is provided, as a means to describe how the ham community can respond to this class of emergency, should police ask their local amateur radio club for assistance.
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