The Missouri Masonic family and Wright City R-II School District will host a MoCHIP child identification event Saturday, May 11, at the Wil Heiliger Activity Building at Deikroeger Park in Wright City. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.The free program consists of five components  — digital photographs and fingerprints, vital child information, emergency contacts, a dental bite impression and two laminated ID cards. The photographs, fingerprints and child data are burned onto a mini-CD that is compatible with the AMBER Alert system already in place. The dental impression provides a virtual diagram of the child’s biting surface, which, like fingerprints, is unique to each individual and further supplies enough saliva for a DNA sample. The DNA sample can be used as a scent source for search and rescue dogs. Once the child is processed through the program, which takes about 15 minutes, the parent is given a single, preprinted envelope that will instruct authorities in the event of an emergency. The MoCHIP CD can be loaded into a police vehicle computer system and entered into the AMBER Alert system.Girls and boys ages 11 to 21 are statistically most susceptible to become missing, and the MoCHIP packet has been tested six times and resulted in all children and teenagers being returned safely. When bringing children in for the event, parents should gather pertinent information, such as names of doctors, dentists, emergency contacts, phone numbers, allergies, medications and parent contact numbers, home and work. Information collection forms and permission slips can be downloaded form the mochip.org Web site and filled out ahead of time. Height charts and scales will be available at the event. Security and privacy will be protected, with all information and specimens collected on site.

MoCHIP child identification event Saturday, May 11, at the Wil Heiliger Activity Building at Deikroeger Park in Wright City. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.