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Sandra Yi ReportingIf a child disappears, his eyes can help identify him. The Weber County Sheriff's Office has access to new technology, that may help find missing children, using iris recognition technology. Our eyes are the most unique features on our body and can more accurately identify us than our fingerprint.
Zax Anderson and his seven-year old sister know all about stranger danger. Their father is in law enforcement.
Capt. Klint Anderson: "There's all sorts of rules about wandering away from the family, where you go, letting my wife and I know where they're at."
But in case one is missing, new technology may help. A camera takes a digital picture of Zax, specifically his eyes. An image of his iris is then transferred onto the computer.
Sean Mullin, The Child Project: "It's the single most accurate biometric that we know of today for positively identifying someone."
The information is stored in a national database for missing children. If Zax is missing, authorities will be able to identify him in a matter of seconds. His father knows how valuable that is.
Capt. Klint Anderson: "It's the reason why I'm enrolling my children. It's in case they turn up missing. I want every tool at my disposable and at law enforcement's disposal that will help them, that will help me find them as quickly as possible."
Anderson says it's a valuable tool, especially to identify runaways or at-risk kids, who can't or won't give them any information.
Capt. Klint Anderson: "It gives us the option to quickly scan their eyes, and if they're in the database, we get a quick positive ID."
Weber County is the first in the state to have the 25 thousand dollar system. It can also be used for Alzheimers patients, who may wander and not know who they are.
Sean Mullin: "One could make the argument, if we find one person, it will be worth the investment in the system."
Weber County plans to debut the system at the county fair in August. You have to enroll to have your information in the database.
A similar program to identify convicted sex offenders, is also in the works.
