TBI Names Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest State Winner

NASHVILLE – Today, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced 11-year-old Anna McDowell as the winner of the state’s 2018 Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest. Her entry has been submitted to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) poster contest representing the State of Tennessee in the national competition. Anna is a student at Lakeside Park Elementary in Hendersonville.

The judge’s chose Anna’s artwork because it clearly and compellingly demonstrated the theme of “Bring Our Missing Children Home.” The young artist chose intersecting flashlight beams to symbolize the need to help missing children reunite with their families. As she wrote in her submission, “I think it is important for families to be together.” Aside from art, the fifth-grader also enjoys playing the guitar and piano and attending Redeemer Church with her parents and her little brother, Amos.

The U.S. Department of Justice, through its Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Child Protection Division, sponsors the annual poster contest for fifth-grade students to develop artwork to represent America’s united goal to bring missing children home safely. As the clearinghouse for missing children in the State of Tennessee, TBI sponsored the contest at the state level.

Each year, more than 1.3 million children are reported missing in the country. The U.S. Department of Justice takes time to commemorate the valiant and unselfish acts of the many organizations and individuals who bring our missing children home. The winning artwork will be unveiled at the National Missing Children’s Day ceremony, to be held in May. The national winner will win a trip to travel with his or her parents to Washington, D.C. to participate in the ceremony, as well as a certificate and a U.S. savings bond.