Aug. 4, 2026, 5:01 a.m. ET
- The Barnstable Police Department is creating a new database for high-risk children.
- This initiative follows several recent incidents of missing children on Cape Cod.
Responding to incidents involving missing high-risk children, the Barnstable Police Department has created a database they say can help law enforcement answer quickly.
The database, according to a police statement posted to social media, will include information about children with autism, kids who are nonverbal, and those with special needs.
In South Dennis on July 30, a non-verbal autistic 8-year-old boy named Deshawn went missing from his home near Johnny Kelly Park, according to a Dennis Police Department social media post.
Deshawn was found, but there have been other cases recently involving high-risk children across the Cape who have gone missing in a similar way, according to Barnstable police.
“Thankfully, each child was safely reunited with their family, but any one of these situations could have easily turned into a tragedy,” said Barnstable Police in the social media statement.
Barnstable Police are asking parents, guardians, caregivers, and the community at large to reach out to dangeloa@barnstablepolice.gov to be a part of the database, which will include information that police say can help officers quickly identify, locate, and safely reunite vulnerable individuals with their families.
Staff writer Rachael Devaney can be reached at rdevaney@capecodonline.com.
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