SEO helps in missing person case

Before, search engine optimization (SEO) was primarily used to increase online visibility of a company. However, some people are now hoping that the internet algorithm technique can help find a man who went missing 16 years ago.

Vernon “Cameron” Kent went missing in 1993, but his family is still hoping to find him. Robert Rahn, president and director of investigations with Management Resources, says that new technologies, like SEO may help him break the case.

“It’s very, very difficult to pick up a case like this, especially after a long period of time when many leads have moved around or passed away,” says Rahn. “I realized when I started working on SEO (search engine optimization) for my own website, that we could utilize search and social media, as well as advances in DNA profiling, to reach more people and get Vernon’s story out there; hopefully helping his family get some resolution.”

Rahn has posted age progression photos and videos of Kent on social networking sights, hoping to get more information about the victim.

Rahn and other investigators will be speaking about the case and how they applied SEO on it at SES San Jose next week.

Based on recent reports, it appears that SEO, together with social networking, is being used often to find missing people. Last week, WebProNews reported that Facebook, Twitter, and Scribd were used to look for Robert Botts from Louisville. Botts has gone missing since July 30 and his car was found abandoned.

Source: Brafton