Missing Children Recovery

It is a situation for which no parent is ever prepared - a child is missing. COMEC offers expert technical assistance in working with law enforcement and navigating every parent's nightmare.

Amber Alert

The AMBER Alert Program, named for 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, and transportation agencies to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases. Broadcasters use the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to air a description of the abducted child and suspected abductor to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of the child.

Child ID 

Having an up-to-date photo of your child is vital to law enforcement should an abduction take place.  Recovery of one in four children is a direct result of the parent having a current photo. In America, 67% of child households have no current photo ID. This program provides a free digital photo and data card.

Safety in Cyberspace

The advent of the Internet has enabled predators to track children where they should feel the safest - at home. Developed as an intervention and prevention program, COMEC show parents how to track their child's Internet activity and gives them the tools to prevent adult-child contact for criminal purposes.

1. AMBER Alert Assistance: Parents/Guardians, Police Departments and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Executive Director Len Edwards is the AMBER Alert Coordinator for West Tennessee.
2. Child Safety Program (Includes Child ID Program – Photos & Fingerprints)
3. Internet Safety Program
4. Drug Education Counselor – 1 on staff (counseling for drugs/truancy/behavior/alcohol)
5. Community Outreach Program: health fairs, information booths, child safety presentations, drug prevention presentations, speakers
6. Teen Drug Hotline (901-572-DRUGS)
7. COMEC Teen Drug Testing Program
   • Free drug testing for parents wishing to test their teens
   • Substance screen testing done through the Baptist Minor Medical Centers
8. Free Drug Test Kits – Home testing program for parents
9. Assist parents with search for missing children (“what to do”; creating posters; notifying others who can assist in the search, canvassing neighborhoods, checking with friends & schools, working with law enforcement)
10. COMEC also collaborates with the Memphis & Shelby County Juvenile Court by making presentations several times each month to children, families and various groups that participate in the Juvenile Court Tours and the Juvenile Court G. O. A. L. program.
11. COMEC also supports Governor Phil Bredesen’s METH-Free Tennessee campaign to end the creation, sale, and distribution of this deadly drug in Tennessee.

Organizational History:

Formed August 24th, 1984, the Commission on Missing and Exploited Children (COMEC) is a non-profit charitable organization that promotes the safety and protection of all children.  COMEC was formed as a collaborative effort between the Juvenille Court of Memphis and Shelby County and the Memphis Police Department.  Thousands of Children and families in the community have benefited from the prevention and intervention services that COMEC provides. COMEC works to promote the safeguarding of our children from child predators, abductors, drug dealers, gangs and any person who might seek to harm or exploit them.

COMEC presentations to children held in Juvenile Court detention - GOAL Program     330 children

Number of counseling sessions & Tech Assistance (parents & children)  138

Number of At-Home drug tests for teens distributed                          1,967

Number of Laboratory drug tests provided for teens                            158

Speaking engagements/seminars to community groups                         17

Commission on Missing & Exploited Children (COMEC)

616 Adams Avenue, Room 103, Memphis, TN 38105

Phone (901) 405-8441 ♦ Fax (901) 405-8542 ♦ Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ♦