Photo: LA Times

It is with great sadness that I write today about the abduction and slaying of Norma Lopez in Moreno Valley. The LA Times article is located HERE and you should give it a read and comment. Our hearts go out to Norma’s family and loved ones.

There is a killer among the residents of Moreno Valley, CA and those who knew Norma Lopez are living in fear. We’re tired of hearing about things like this and we’re tired of living in fear.

How long will we gamble with the balance between fear of change and our children’s safety? How long will we resist change?

We at SafeKidZone know that although we are stalwart allies in the fight against sex offenders, murderers and kidnappers, we are also fighting our own small battle against the winds of change. People sometimes fear change, for example change in the way that SafeKidZone is changing how people use their cell phones. No longer is a cell phone just a toy to text your friends with, but with our service we turn it into a vital safety device that can actually prevent danger or stop a crime in progress if used correctly. A crime no different than the one that claimed the life of Norma Lopez.

The LA Times article raises chilling questions and issues. Here are some quotes from the piece:

“With word that a killer was among them, fear spread quickly among Moreno Valley’s parents and teenagers Wednesday after authorities confirmed that a body found near a patch of farmland was that of a missing 17-year-old high school student.”

“Sonia DeLeon, a prenatal health counselor, wasn’t taking any chances. She’s sending her 17-year-old daughter to live with relatives in San Diego County for a few weeks.”

“It’s scary. The person is still out there,” DeLeon said. “I work, my husband works, we can’t keep an eye on her every minute.”
“News of Lopez’s death, mostly through text messages and cellphones, traveled quickly through her school long before the Sheriff’s Department made the official announcement, Principal Kristen Hunter said.”

SafeKidZone could have helped. Here’s how:

1. Killer among them: SafeKidZone has access to the National Sex Offender Registry and Crime Data. That means that parents in the area could know about what’s happening in their neighborhood and whether a sex offender lives near and set proximity alerts when a kid gets near a sex offender or crime zone.
2. Sending her 17-year-old daughter to San Diego: There is no need to do this in a general sense when your kid has SafeKidZone running on their cellphone.  San Diego, while a beautiful city, is not inherently more safe than the place where Norma Lopez was abducted. Lest we forget that Chelsea King and Amber Dubois were both abducted in San Diego. SafeKidZone is a community application meaning that out goal is to help build safer communities through vigilance and information sharing between neighbours. Moreno Valley could be made much safer if residents there adopted SKZ as a safety solution.
3. I work, my husband works, we can’t keep an eye on her every minute: Yes you can with SafeKidZone’s real time GPS tracking. We don’t expect parents to watch every movement of their child, but in an emergency a child in trouble can hit the Panic Button, which will send an email and text alert to the parent with GPS coordinates on a map and situational information, while also opening a conference call with our Call Center and others in your personal safety network. If it turns out that it’s a real emergency Safety Network Members or our call center will escalate the Panic Button alert and all the information to police.
4. News of death traveled quickly through texts and cellphones: Wouldn’t it be great if instead of news of death being transmitted over cellphone networks, we could have news of life and a chance to stop a kidnapping or murder from happening? Yes! SafeKidZone already does this. The Panic Button sends a text and email AND a phone call from the kid’s cellphone to people who can help.

So what’s the hold up, people? SafeKidZone values your privacy and there there is no privacy issue since personal and location information is only shared between you and people you hand-selected as trustworthy individuals. Our product works on just about every cellphone on the market with an iPhone 4 app forthcoming, so there is no compatibility issue. Our product works – period.

The battle we fight is making sure people spread the word and open their minds to change. So spread the word,with one or all of the links below, for the sake of your children and ours. We can’t afford to wait any longer.

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