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While GPS tracking technology is used to protect cars and cellphones, the use of GPS tracking to keep children safe is largely controversial. Some parents are conflicted when it comes to watching a child’s every move. Other parents feel that GPS tracking is a necessity. While rare (and not always preventable), child tragedies do strike.

The story below is one such tragedy that a Quebec family recently suffered.

As reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Company, Laval, QC, officers with police dogs and helicopters searched desperately to find three-year-old Adam Benhamama, after he was reported missing on Sunday, April 3, 2011. The search was made particularly difficult because the child in question is autistic, mute and deaf, meaning that he could not call out for help or hear the search and rescue team trying to find him. The team spent all day, Monday, searching a nearby forest that Adam may have wandered into.

The ground search has been called off after finding zero signs or leads as to where Adam Benhamama could be. Laval Const. Nathalie Lorrain reported that “there is no sign at all in the woods that he may have gone in there.” The search will continue at the nearby Mille-Illes River, but Lorrain adds, “As time goes by, we’re not losing hope, but we think, more and more, that something bad has happened, and he fell into the river.”

The search continues and any information about the location of this child should be reported immediately. Adam Benhamama is two feet tall, weighs 25 pounds, and was last seen wearing a black jacket, jeans, and a black and purple beanie hat.

Update: as of April 11, 2011, the Laval Police Department has called off the search for Adam Benhamama. Police believe that the child fell into the river, though divers have not recovered any clues.

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One family in North Dakota decided to look into purchasing a GPS tracking device after their autistic son wandered away from the family while he was outside one day. A child without autism can also easily wander away and become lost and disoriented. This is a very frightening situation. But, as you can understand, the parents in this case were doubly panicked because their son does not have the communication skills that other children have. These parents actually have two sons with autism. So after the incident where one son was separated from the family, they started trying to find ways to make sure that they could keep all of their children safe.

It took an hour and a half, but the family’s missing son was eventually found. However, if you have lost your child for even one minute, you know that you can age a million years with worry in a very short amount of time. Children are also traumatized after being lost and even if they don’t say a lot about it, they tend to cling to their parents more after being found. And a child with autism who has limited communication skills will be affected in ways that they cannot necessarily express.

Children do wander off, on purpose or by accident. A parent may not be able to prevent this, but you can take measures to protect your child. Whether or not your children have special needs, you may still want to consider getting a GPS tracking system to keep up with their whereabouts. It can save you and them a lot of heartache and worry.

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