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Life Lynx Partners with Powell Police for Technology Launch,September 11 is Child Safety Event in Powell OH

Life Lynx has developed a new child safety tool that can alert the authorities of a missing child in seconds. This alert will include a recent picture, which is the most important piece of data that the authorites need to do their job effectively and bring the child to safety.

Powell, OH August 22, 2004 -- On September 11, Powell, OH will become the first city in America to pilot an innovative new child safety technology known as the Life Lynx Child Safety Key. The Powell Police Department will host a Child Safety Event in cooperation with software and hardware developers Life Lynx, in order to demonstrate how the Life Lynx Child Safety Key works to provide police and other authorities with almost instant access to photos and other critical information about missing children.

“In the case of a missing child, the most important piece of information to any law enforcement professional is a recent picture of that child so we can distribute it quickly,” said Chief Gary Vest, Powell Police Department. “The Life Lynx product does just that. We ran a test with our Armada software in our cruisers, and the scenario went flawlessly. If a child is discovered missing in Powell, the parent hands an officer the Life Lynx digital device and in a matter of seconds the officer can open up the Child Safety Key software, submit a missing child report, and get that child’s picture and other important data to every cruiser in Powell.”

The Life Lynx Child Safety Key is a digital storage device that houses proprietary software. The software is easy to use and walks a parent through the process of inputting 21 data points that have been determined critical by the authorities in the event of a missing child. The information contained within the Child Safety Key includes age, height, weight, address and recent front and profile pictures. Through many interviews with law enforcement professionals, it was determined that the profile picture is critical. If a child has been abducted by car, a police officer may only have a side view of the child.

“When a child is missing, the most important tool for the authorities conducting the search is to get a recent picture out as quickly as possible,” said Andy Haag, vice president of Life Lynx. “The Life Lynx software has the ability to submit the data instantly, including the pictures, to our server. Our server then is accessed by the authorities to download the picture, print a poster, or 'strip' the data into their own database. That is exactly what we are doing in Powell.”

All of the police cruisers in Powell are equipped with Windows 2000 Mobile PC’s running Armada iLincs Software. Powell officers have the ability to insert the Life Lynx Child Safety Key into any police cruiser and instantly post that child’s picture to their network. By linking the Life Lynx server with Armada’s iLincs software, that picture could be in over 400 cars in central Ohio. In addition, any vehicle or device with Internet access, including a cell phone, pager or PDA, could have that picture. This is all possible within minutes, even seconds, from the abduction. In the event of an Amber Alert, the media will now be able to access the picture instantly.

Child Safety Event in Powell
The technology launch between Life Lynx and the Powell Police Department will happen on Sept 11, 2004, from noon to 3:00 p.m. The technology will also be showcased September 7th during the Powell City Council meeting at 7:30 p.m., with a demo of the technology to City Council members and also members of the local press. On September 11th, the residents of Powell will be invited to City Hall from noon to 3:00 p.m. Life Lynx will provide hourly demonstrations showing how the technology can be used in general, and specifically in the Powell Police Cruisers. The demonstrations will show how a child’s picture can be instantly sent from a cruiser over the Internet to those that need it to help quickly and safely find a missing child. Time is of the essence in an abduction.

One hundred and fifty free Life Lynx Child Safety Keys will be donated to local residents of Powell. Life Lynx representatives will be available to assist parents in setting up their Child Safety Keys, including taking the digital pictures and entering the data. Parents will also have the option of setting up the key at home if they prefer. Or, families can also visit Fed Ex/Kinko’s on Sawmill Road in Dublin, OH. Fed Ex/Kinko’s is a corporate “set-up partner” for the Life Lynx Child Safety Key. They will assist parents by taking digital pictures of their children, and will even help to enter the data so the parent can leave with a fully functional Life Lynx Child Safety Keys.