Whereas, The children of today are our citizens of tomorrow and our children are the nation’s most valuable assets; they are our link to the future and their protection and safety must be one of our highest priorities; and,

Whereas, More than 725,000 missing children were reported to police in the United States in the year 2001; locating and safely returning these children to their homes is a national and international objective and in addition to the already existing crimes against children, we now have a serious additional threat due to the expansion of internet technology; and,

Whereas, The Interstate Enforcement Agencies to Recover Children (I-SEARCH) Council, consisting of the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin; along with criminal justice officials, missing children’s organizations and concerned citizens throughout America, are joining together to observe May 25th as National Missing Children’s Day; and now therefore be it,

Resolved, That I, Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor of the State of Michigan, do hereby join with the Governors of each I-SEARCH state in proclaiming May 25, 2003, as Missing Children’s Day in Michigan, and I encourage all citizens to observe Missing Children’s Day by leaving their vehicle lights on continuously while driving and porch lights on in the evening May 23, 2003, through the Memorial weekend, ending on the evening of May 26, 2003, in order to “Light the Way Home” for our missing children throughout the country.