About

"Anything that can help get out information about missing children is wonderful. I can't even imagine the heartache parents go through. This program is really great because it allows a person to keep the picture of the missing person."
- Dee Blair, Erie Fan

Hello, my name is Dennis Bair, and I have created an incredible new way to search for missing children. I put on autograph sessions at minor league baseball games in which the players sign team photos for the fans in attendance. Then, I put a picture of a missing child in the upper corner of the team photo, along with that child's vital information. The idea is that fans - especially kids - actually keep the signed pictures of their favorite players and teams. This leads to prolonged exposure of the missing child's image, and a greater chance of recovery!

I am a former minor league baseball player - after my junior year of college in 1995 I was drafted as a pitcher by the Chicago Cubs, and later signed minor league free agent contracts with the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks. An injury to my pitching shoulder ended my career.

Like all of us, I have seen countless photos of missing children on milk cartons, on the walls at the post office, and on flyers in the mail. But I always ended up throwing the milk carton away when the milk was gone. I would also walk right by the pictures at the post office without taking the time to look at them. And those flyers I got in the mail would inevitably end up in the recycling bin or the garbage can. I thought there must be a better way to get people to actually look at the photos instead of ignoring them or throwing them away.

Then it hit me! If a ballplayer could sign the photo and give it to a kid at a baseball game, that kid would actually look at it and, better yet, keep it and show it to their family and friends! I could enlist children themselves in the search for a missing child - and double the amount of eyeballs in the search! I could bring new hope to the parents of a missing child!

I have held autograph sessions with five teams in the last five years, and 2 of the 5 children I've featured have been recovered!

I have applied for 501(c)3 nonprofit status, and am based out of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania. Please contact me if you would like more information, at dennis@bairfind.org.

I have received incredible help from many friends who believe in this project. They have given their expertise, time, encouragement, friendship, and vision to BairFind. Together, we will continue the search for missing children.