Subdivision 1. Distribution. The commissioner shall distribute a missing persons bulletin to local law enforcement agencies, county attorneys, and, in the case of missing children, to public and nonpublic schools. The commissioner shall also make this information accessible to other parties involved in efforts to locate missing children and endangered persons and to other persons as the commissioner considers appropriate.

Subd. 2. Photograph. Local agencies shall obtain the most recent photograph available for missing children and endangered persons and forward those photographs to the commissioner. The commissioner shall include these photographs, as they become available, in the bulletins.

Subd. 3. Included with mailing. State and local elected officials and agencies may enclose in their mailings information regarding missing children and endangered persons obtained from law enforcement agencies or from any organization that is recognized as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization under state or federal law and has an ongoing missing children and endangered persons program. Elected officials and commissioners of state agencies are urged to develop policies to enclose missing children and endangered persons information in mailings when it will not increase postage costs and is otherwise considered appropriate.

Subd. 3a. Collection of data. Identifying information on missing children and endangered persons entered into the NCIC computer regarding cases that are still active at the time the missing persons bulletin is compiled may be included in the bulletin.

Subd. 4. Data classification. The information included in the missing children bulletin is public data as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 15.

History: 1991 c 285 s 7; 1993 c 326 art 10 s 9; 2009 c 38 s 5-8; 2014 c 275 art 1 s 101