Increase In Children Reported Missing at Beach This Season
By: delmarvanow.com
As the summer tourist season comes close to ending, the number of children reported missing at the beach has increased, according to Rehoboth lifeguards.
They attribute an estimated 20-30 reports of missing children at the beach during the weekend of Aug. 20 to an increase in beachgoers during that weekend.
"It was a pretty busy day for lost kids," said Ray Tartal, chief of the Rehoboth Beach Patrol lifeguards. "It was a crowded day. A lot of kids just start wandering in the wrong direction."
All of the children who were reported missing were found the same day, he added.
Missing persons reports are not uncommon at the beach, according to lifeguards at Dewey and Rehoboth beaches. Last year 407 children were reported missing, according to Rehoboth Beach Patrol Statistics; a 5 percent decrease compared to 2009.
Dewey Beach Patrol reported a 76 percent increase in missing persons reports on the beach last year; 25 reports were filed in 2009 compared to 44 in 2010. However, the number of children reported missing at the beach last year pales in comparison to the 76 reports in 1999, according to Dewey Beach patrol data.
It's easy for children and elderly adults to get lost on the beach, according to lifeguards. Sometimes after playing in the sand or water for a while it can be difficult for them to find their way back to family and friends.
"It's very common especially later in the afternoon when people become relaxed on the beach," said Todd Fritchman, the Dewey Beach Patrol captain and director of emergency services for the town. "You can't doze off or relax you have to keep a diligent eye."
When a child is reported missing, a lifeguard will use the radio to contact the beach patrol headquarters. Information about the missing child is then broadcast over all the lifeguard radios on the beach so other lifeguards can assist, Tartal said.
"Once we find them, we send the parent to whatever (lifeguard) chair the kid is at," he said.
In Dewey, if the child is small enough, the lifeguard will blow a whistle and hold the child up to see if relatives or friends are nearby, according to Fritchman.
Typically, a lifeguard will find the child's guardian within 12 minutes, Fritchman added. If no one has claimed the child within 20 to 30 minutes the lifeguard will contact other jurisdictions.
According to lifeguards, the most important thing for parents to do is show children the lifeguard chair before settling in on the beach. The chairs, or a flags nearby, are marked with a number unique to its location.
Lifeguards also recommend that parents instruct children to find a lifeguard if they get lost and familiarizing them with the name of a street close to their location on the beach.
"Make sure the kids are aware the lifeguards are there to help them," Tartal said.