AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A legislative committee is holding hearings on a pair of bills requiring notification to authorities when a child is missing.
Both bills reviewed by the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Thursday afternoon are modeled after “Caylee’s Law,” which is being considered in Florida.
That legislation was inspired by the case of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony, whose mother didn’t report her missing in Florida for about a month. The mother has been acquitted of murder.
In Maine, one bill makes failing to report a missing child within 24 hours a crime, and the other makes it a crime to fail to report a missing child under 13 within 48 hours.
Lawmakers did not dispute the seriousness of failing to report, but expressed concern over unintended consequences of the law.
-
- Caylee Anthony
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.