The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and Clear Channel Outdoor Americas – Albuquerque (CCOA) (NYSE: CCO), a subsidiary of iHeartMedia Inc., have launched a new month-long digital billboard campaign across Albuquerque to call attention to Enrique Medel, missing from Albuquerque since March 17, 2011, and who celebrated his 20th birthday on February 12. Beginning today and running for four weeks, CCOA will broadcast Medel’s last seen, and age progression images, on the company’s digital billboards in Albuquerque. The donated billboards direct the public to call 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) with any information concerning the disappearance or current whereabouts of Medel.
In a press conference in front of CCOA’s digital billboard at Lomas Blvd and High Street, Albuquerque Mayor Richard J. Berry, District Attorney Raul Torres, City Councilor Isaac Benton, NCMEC’s Cynthia Mejia Colin and Brenda Begley, Vice President – CCOA Albuquerque, joined in solidarity with Olivia Medel, Enrique’s mother, and local law enforcement, to unveil this campaign and highlight the urgency in bringing attention to missing children everywhere. Press and members of the community were on hand to listen to Olivia’s powerful story emphasizing her continued hope in her search for her son, Enrique.
This latest initiative builds on NCMEC and CCOA’s 2015 national ‘Summer of Hope’ campaign, which reminded parents never to wait 24 hours to report a missing child and their 2016 statewide effort in Texas calling attention to missing kids from the Lonestar state. According to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the country is in the midst of a persistent missing and exploited children crisis nationwide, with the reporting of over 465,000 entries for missing children in 2016, on par with reports of missing children made to law enforcement in 2015.
Across metropolitan Albuquerque, CCOA’s donation of its digital inventory enables NCMEC to reach 92% of adults in Albuquerque where images will be displayed for a month. Locations of the billboards which feature Enrique Medel’s photos include high-traffic areas such as I-25 and I-40.
“We are hopeful that our digital billboard campaign will bring home Enrique Mendel to his mother,” said VJ Smith Jr., President, CCOA Albuquerque-El Paso Division. “Donating our billboards to call attention to our missing children throughout the Albuquerque area is a critical initiative for Clear Channel Outdoor Americas and we are so proud to partner with NCMEC once again to help bring our missing children home to their families. Having the support of our constituents including Mayor Berry, District Attorney Torres and City Councilor Benton along with our local police department is vital to getting our message out to our residents that these children still need our help. We thank NCMEC for its tireless efforts to bring children to safety throughout the country every day.”
According to NCMEC, photos are one of the most vital tools for law enforcement when searching for a missing child, and have the power to produce leads that can help law enforcement give families answers and help safely recover children. The new billboard campaign enables NCMEC to reach a broad audience across Albuquerque by distributing photos of Enrique Medel in targeted areas that can aid local law enforcement with a search.
“Photos and the media play an important role in bringing missing children home. We are grateful to Clear Channel Outdoor for its continued efforts to raise awareness in local communities and give families hope that they will one day be reunited with their missing child,” said Cynthia Mejia Colin, National Outreach Coordinator for NCMEC.
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