Poster Campaign Focuses On Regional Missing Persons
The campaign will spotlight missing persons throughout the state by placing their photos and information on movie posters that will be put up at the 19 rest areas along interstates throughout Missouri, which are visited by over 24 million people each year.
One of the four cases featured on the first poster will be that of Daryl Wilkes, 54, who was last seen in Jefferson City on Aug. 24, 2007.
Wilkes was last seen in the 1700 block of East Elm Street driving a metallic dark-green Hyundai Sante Fe with Oklahoma license plates 847-ZVE that expire in March 2008.
He is described as a 6-foot, 1-inch black man weighing 200 pounds.
Wilkes was planning to drive to Florissant to see his girlfriend. In tracking financial records, authorities found that Wilkes went to a Quick Trip in St. Peters on Aug. 24 around 10:30 p.m. Video surveillance confirmed Wilkes was in the store and that's the last time he was seen, because he never made it to his girlfriend's home.
The poster featuring Wilkes and the other three cases will be placed at the Boonville rest area along I-70. Authorities said the posters will have information on cases that come from the geographic areas where the rest areas are located. Eighteen more posters are scheduled to be put up later this month and the plan is to change them quarterly.
Cooperating to find missing individuals is nothing new for the patrol and MoDOT. Both agencies, as well as Missouri broadcasters, currently work hand-in-hand to inform the public of missing and abducted children via the statewide Amber Alert program. When the Patrol issues an Amber Alert, MoDOT uses its 48 message boards along Interstates 70 and 44 to alert the public.
In addition to Amber Alerts, the patrol has an Endangered Person Advisory, which is issued for missing adults, as well as children who do not qualify for the statewide Amber Alert. Through May 23, the patrol has issued five Endangered Person Advisories. Each of these advisories concluded with the location of the missing individual. No statewide Amber Alerts have been required during 2008.
June 25, 2008
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