Each year, nearly one million children disappear from our sight. The Freemasons of Maryland have a program that can help with locating missing children. The Child Identification Program (CHIP) collects basic identification data including a photograph, finger prints, and identifying characteristics for each child in your family and provides you with a permanent record on paper and on a CD. The paper record is provided in two forms; one that you can file away and the other that you can carry in a purse or wallet. The CD also contains a video interview with your child which is helpful to law enforcement officials when searching for a lost child. We collect the data and use the computer to produce the document and CD but we do not retain any information once the computer has produced the CD. The printed information and CD are the sole property of the child's parent(s) or guardian(s). They alone make the decision to share it with law enforcement agencies should a child become lost.

Statistical data shows that the sooner a child's description, DNA, photo, etc. can be obtained by law enforcement agencies, the better the chance of recovering a child who has gone missing. The agencies have many tools at their disposal including specially trained dogs that can detect human cells under as much as two feet of water. The data collected by a CHIP team about a child is specifically selected to assist the law enforcement personnel in the search.

To learn more about the Maryland CHIP program, please send an email to , or call the Office of the Grand Lodge at (410) 527- 0600. This web site also includes a calendar of upcoming Maryland CHIP events and you may also request a CHIP event for your community, gathering, or organization by completing and submitting the form found there.

To learn more about the Maryland Freemasons, follow this link to the Grand Lodge of Maryland Web Page.

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