I never knew this, and thought it was worth passing along. While waiting a very long time in line at the pharmacy, I was just looking around and happened to notice the "Code Adam" instructions posted in an area where notices are posted mainly for employees. The notices mostly consisted of motivational "safety first" and "remember customer service" kinds of things, but the Code Adam instructions were laid out in detail.
Code Adam is when a parent or guardian reports a child missing in a public store. The store is locked down.
But here were the instructions to the staff (these are not specific to this particular store, they are national Code Adam guidelines).
Adult reports child missing. Employee gets on intercom or walkie-talkie to manager and says "Code Adam". Manager orders all doors closed and locked, and orders security to the doors. Manager summons all available employees to pre-established meeting place and assigns search areas (restrooms, fitting rooms, bakery, deli, whatever) and employees search assigned areas. Customers are allowed to leave the store if they wish, if they definitely do not fit the description (for example, 4 year old blond blue eyed boy is missing; customers of African-American descent are dismissed, customers without children are dismissed, customers with blond blue eyed 10 or 15 year old kids are dismissed).
All other customers are detained - all customers with a blond blue eyed 4-ish kid, whether it's a boy or girl.
Manager asks adult who reported child for description, including gender, age, race, identifying marks like scars or a cast, hair/eyes, clothing.
Now here was the interesting part that I never had heard of. Manager is to ask reporting adult about the footwear the child had on: flip flops, red sneakers, light-up Tinkerbell shoes, Thomas the Train sneakers, purple crocs, etc. That piece of info is spread to all employees, security, police. Why? Because in the case of a child abduction, the kidnapper can easily throw a hoodie on the kid, shoplift a t shirt and throw it on the kid, or he/she can easily have a spare t shirt (kid size) in his pocket or backpack or under his/her clothing. So if you're looking for a kid wearing a red t shirt, the kidnapper can walk right past you with the child in a purple hoodie or a blue t shirt.
But, as anyone who has had a toddler or baby or pre-schooler knows, untying sneakers, putting new sneakers on, tying them, can be a CHORE. Or unbuckling tiny sandals and putting on new ones. Or convincing a stubborn 2 year old to allow this grownup to take off his beloved Superman shoes and put these plain blue ones on. The Code Adam people said that kidnappers almost never change the child's shoes because it's too hard to just sneak a pair of shoes in and then sit down and change them. It's easy to guess a t shirt size to switch, but not easy to figure out what size shoes the kid was wearing and how to replace them without anyone noticing. The kid will probably yell "I want my Thomas Train shoes" or "I need my light up sneakers" or "these are too tight" so kidnappers just let the shoes stay. So they said that before looking for the hair length or style, the clothing - WHAT SHOES WAS THE CHILD WEARING AND LOOK FOR THOSE ALL OVER THE STORE. And that's one of the primary messages that will be spread to all employees and staff. The instructions said that kidnappers almost never change the child's footwear, and children who have been found quickly frequently have different hair, different clothing, but the same shoes as when they were abducted.
I thought it was really interesting. Maybe I'm the only one who never knew this. But anyone who takes small children shopping should note what shoes their kid is wearing that day and be prepared to describe them. Am I the only one who didn't think of this? Maybe. But I thought it was worth passing along.
Glad to know this. What I hope is that they actually train their employees. It does no good to have the sign up, to have the protocol, for some of the employees to know, etc etc, and then it not be done.
Thanks for posting it!
I didn't know about all the details, but several years ago my cousin's son wandered away and Walmart was basically shut down. Not all stores follow Code Adam protocol. Don't assume they go.
Updated
I didn't know about all the details, but several years ago my cousin's son wandered away and Walmart was basically shut down. Not all stores follow Code Adam protocol. Don't assume they go.
When we go somewhere big (like a fair or amusement park kinda thing) with our kids, we take a picture of them dressed, so it's very recent, and a specific one of just their shoes. You may not remember the small details under stress, but a picture is invaluable.
I had to report my son at Walmart once. Thankfully the paragraph about the manager gathering all the employees in one spot in order to assign them a place to search does not describe how they handled it. (What an extreme waste of time!!!) Rather, employees simply knew to search their assigned areas. The person in toys walked around toys. The employees in electronics searched electronics, etc. I assume managers searched the restrooms.
Once I notified an employee that my son was missing, he was on the radio with the "Code Adam." Less than 2 minutes later he heard back from his coworker that my son was with her. They told me where they were, and I was there right away!
The employees were super efficient!!!
But I do appreciate your comment about the shoes. That is a great idea!
Great idea, I haven't seen that one.
Another good piece of advice is to take pictures of your child when you enter a store, playground, zoo etc. This way you have a picture of how your child looked that day.
I worked at Walmart and while yes, code adam did mean a lost kid, we never talked about shoes. We were told what the kid was wearing if that info was available, and their age, gender, and appearance. When we heard "code adam" we were not supposed to meet anywhere, just quietly begin searching our own work area while the managers of each department checked in with us and the front end managers controlled the exits.
I know about a Code Adam because I had one for my second son. He thought it would be HILARIOUS to hide from me. Of course, I did not know that. So I am running around the store getting louder and louder yelling for my son, crying, and really upset! They do a code Adam, ask me what he was wearing (I STILL remember, a dinosaur t-shirt, blue jeans, light up buzz lightyear shoes) and the store shuts down.
Two minutes later I hear him giggling and he jumps out "here I am mama!!"
Grrrr....
spent the rest of the shop having people ask me if my dinosaur clad son was the one who was missing.
Kids.
this is true. as a walmart employee, we were given the childs shoe description. and we were told to excuse ourselves from a customer if we were on the sales floor and code adam was announced. so even if your shopping without your kids and hear code adam called don't be surprised if your helping employee pardons themselves and walks off.
We've been in stores where we've heard a Code Adam announced. Being the mom that I am I immediately start looking around me to see if I see a wandering, lost looking little kid. I don't remember which store we were in but I remember seeing a sudden flood of employees searching the entire store very quickly. It made me feel pretty good about their response if mine were to ever go missing! I've always heard the advice to take a full body picture, including shoes, when you go out. The shoes make so much since!
Had never thought about that. Thanks for the tip. Sometimes I can't even remember what shirt they had on!
Fascinating. Thank you for sharing this. The "shoe" tip is critical.
Great information. Thanks for sharing!
I did not know this, and probably would never have thought about it until you posted it.
It makes perfect sense.
Thank you.
I never would have thought of it, but it sounds reasonable.
Yes!!! It is called "Code Adam" because of 6 year old Adam Walsh who was abducted from a Sears store. Adam's dad, John Walsh went on to host American's Most Wanted tv show.
How interesting! Thanks for sharing!!
that's a really smart idea.
once it gets out and creeps are aware of it, looking for kids in bare feet (especially in cold weather) will make sense too.
khairete
S.
Interesting. But what if it's a baby that goes missing? It's normal, for my son, to not have shoes on in the store bc he takes them off and throws them. so how do they identify a newborn?
Very good information
