Method and system for locating a lost person or lost personal property

Abstract

The present invention defines a method and system for identifying and locating a lost person or lost personal property. The invention makes use of a subscription service wherein individuals desiring the locating service may pre-register the individual or property. At registration, the subscribing individual provides personal information relevant to the individual or property to be tracked which is stored in a data base. The subscribing individual is provided a photo identification card, unique to the individual, which includes a toll-free telephone number and unique Personal Identification Number (PIN) imprinted thereon. If the individual or property to be tracked becomes lost or misplaced, the lost individual or members of his family, or the subscribing individual who has lost his property, may call the toll-free number to report the individual or property as lost or misplaced. Through the PIN, an operator receiving the toll-free call may retrieve the individual's personal information or the information concerning the property. The personal information is used to assist law enforcement and emergency personnel in identifying, locating, tracking the individual or property.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A method for locating a lost person, comprising the steps of: 
       (a) producing one or more personal identification cards having preassigned unique identifying indicia thereon, the preassigned unique identifying indicia including a unique personal identification number, a full face photograph of the person, and a toll-free telephone number of a central station;  
       (b) dispensing the one or more personal identification cards to be maintained by the the person's parent( s )/ guardian ( s )/ family member ( s ) or the person and/or to  and the person's parent(s)/guardians(s)/family member(s) if desired ;  
       (c) reporting certain vital statistics and personal information concerning the person to whom the personal identification card was dispensed to the central station;  
       (d) storing the reported vital statistics and personal information concerning the person and the full face photograph of the person in a database;  
       (e) reading and calling the toll-free telephone number when the person becomes lost;  
       (f) placing a call to the central station via the toll-free telephone number;  
       (g) reporting the personal identification number to the operator at the central station;  
       (h) utilizing a caller identification type  service to obtain the phone number relating to the particular phone from which the call is placed to the central station;  
       (i) correlating the obtained phone number to a particular geographic location from which the call is placed to the central station;  
       (j) utilizing the personal identification number to facilitate retrieval of the certain vital statistics and personal information concerning the person and the full face photograph of the person from the database;  
       (k) placing a call from the central station to law enforcement authorities and providing the certain vital statistics and personal information concerning the person and the full face photograph of the person to the law enforcement authorities;  
       (l) placing a call from the central station to the parent(s)/guardian(s)/family member(s) of the person informing the parent(s)/guardian(s)/family member(s) that the person is lost; and  
       (m) placing a call from the central station to medical personnel if the certain vital statistics and personal information concerning the person indicate that the person has a medical condition(s) which may necessitate medical attention.  
     
     
       2. The method for locating a lost person as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: placing a tag including the unique personal identification number and the toll-free telephone number on an item of clothing worn by the person to further assist with the location of the person particularly when the person is incapacitated and is unable to place a call to the toll-free telephone number themselves. 
     
     
       3. The method of locating a lost person as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the central station is operated on a 24-hour a day basis for seven days of a week. 
     
     
       4. The method of locating a lost persona as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said step of reading and calling the toll-free telephone number is replaced with the step of: swiping the personal identification card through a magnetic-stripe-reading-apparatus-equipped telephone to automatically initiate the call to the toll-free telephone number when the person becomes lost. 
     
     
       5. The method of locating a lost person as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said preassigned unique identifying indicia of said one or more personal identification cards include an electronic mail address and a facsimile telephone number of the central station. 
     
     
       6. The method of locating a lost person as claimed in  claim 5  wherein said step of placing a call to the central station is replaced by the step of: sending an electronic mail communication to the central station via the electronic mail address. 
     
     
       7. The method of locating a lost person as claimed in  claim 5  wherein said step of placing a call to the central station is replaced by the step of: sending a facsimile transmission to the central station via the facsimile telephone number. 
     
     
       8. A method for locating lost personal property, comprising the steps of: 
       (a) producing one or more property identification cards having preassigned unique identifying indicia thereon, the preassigned unique identifying indicia including a unique property identification number, a photograph of the personal property and a toll-free telephone number of a central station;  
       (b) dispensing the property identification card to the owner of the property;  
       (c) reporting certain identifying information concerning the personal property for which the property identification card was dispensed to the central station;  
       (d) storing the reported certain identifying information concerning the personal property and the photograph of the personal property in a database;  
       (e) reading and calling the toll-free telephone number when the personal property becomes lost;  
       (f) placing a call to the central station via the toll-free telephone number;  
       (g) reporting the property identification number to the operator at the central station;  
       (h) utilizing a caller identification type service to obtain the phone number relating to the particular phone from which the call is placed to the central station;  
       (i) correlating the obtained phone number to a particular geographic location from which the call is placed to the central station;  
       (j) utilizing the property information number to facilitate retrieval of the certain property and the photograph of the personal property from the database; and  
       (k) placing a call from the central station to law enforcement authorities and providing the certain identifying information concerning the personal property and the photograph of the personal property to the law enforcement authorities.  
     
     
       9. A method for assisting a person who is lost and/or in an emergency situation, the method comprising the steps of: 
       
         storing, in a database, the person's personal profile information and contact information regarding at least one contact in the even the person becomes lost and/or is in an emergency situation, the personal profile information including certain vital statistics of the person and a photograph of the person;  
       
         providing one or more personal identification cards to be maintained by one or more of the person's family members and/or guardians or the person and one or more of the person's family members and/or guardians, the personal identification cards having preassigned unique identifying indicia thereon including a unique personal identification number, the photograph and a toll - free telephone number of a central station;    
         placing a call to an operator at the central station via the toll - free telephone number when the person becomes lost and/or is in an emergency situation;    
       
         reporting the personal identification number to the operator;  
       
       
         utilizing the personal identification number to retrieve the personal profile information and contact information from the database; and  
       
       
         informing the contact that the person has become lost and/or is in an emergency situation and/or furnishing the personal profile information to law enforcement authorities and/or medical personnel. 
       
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising determining a location of the call made in said placing step and reporting the location to the law enforcement authorities and/or medical personnel in said furnishing step. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the location is determined by utilizing a caller identification service. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising placing a tag including the unique personal identification number and the toll- free number into an item of clothing worn by the person.   
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the personal identification card includes an encoded magnetic strip which stores the toll- free number and the call is placed by swiping the personal identification card through a magnetic strip - reading telephone.