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San Luis Obispo County Uses Cassidian Communications REVERSE 911 System to Raise Public Awareness, Help Find Missing Boy

Company Representative August 31, 2011 Product & Service Announcements

Franklin, Tenn., August 31, 2011 – Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America company, announced today the successful use of its emergency notification technology to aid in the search for a missing four-year-old boy, Jeremy Guthrie, on August 5, 2011. Use of the company’s patented REVERSE 911® system allowed local law enforcement to spread word quickly of the child’s abduction, raising public awareness and contributing to the child’s safe return more than twelve hours after his reported disappearance. Searchers included California’s San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office and Police Department, the Atascadero Police Department (APD), hundreds of community volunteers and others.

“The less time that lapses between when a child is first reported missing and when the search actually starts, the greater the chance for recovery,” said Rob Bryn, Public Information Officer for the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office. “Given the early hour of day when the child was first reported, we knew that few people would be watching TV or listening to the radio. This made our decision to activate the REVERSE 911® system a simple one, and fortunately for everyone, it proved highly beneficial, especially to Jeremy and his mother.”

The San Luis Obispo Police Department special problems team provided a detailed profile of the alleged abductor, including the fact that she was known to frequent local backyards, claiming to live there. According to Bryn, the quick broadcast of these messages using the REVERSE 911® system not only helped to spark interest in the story, but also led to an outpouring of help from the community. This high level of awareness essentially shut down the suspect’s ability to move within the city, forcing her to take refuge in an abandoned building near the location of the abduction. All the while, officials, working in tandem with local residents, scoured the area in search of clues leading to the boy’s return and were able to further constrict the alleged perpetrator.

Among the many organizations assisting the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, APD and the San Luis Obispo Police Department in locating Jeremy were the FBI (Santa Maria and Los Angeles), the California Highway Patrol, search and rescue teams, K-9 units, detectives from the Paso Robles Police Department, District Attorney investigators and more than 100 community volunteers working under the direction of the American Red Cross.

Throughout the course of the twelve-hour search, officials activated the REVERSE 911®system four different times. The first broadcast alerted people of the situation, providing recipients a physical description of the missing boy and asking anyone with information to immediately contact local authorities. The following two sessions provided local residents essential updates,

keeping them abreast of the unfolding situation and reminding them to be on the lookout for the child or any suspicious activity. The last activation brought the event to a close, letting residents know Jeremy was found safe and unharmed at the former Ford dealership in Atascadero.

“Feedback to our use of the REVERSE 911® system has been incredibly positive,” said Bryn. “The residents of San Luis Obispo County seem very pleased that we have such a powerful communications tool in place, and find peace of mind in knowing it could some day be used to help locate their own loved ones or alert them of other potential hazards like wildfires.”

In the case of Jeremy Guthrie, the system automatically alerted more than 19,000 residents of the boy’s disappearance. The alleged abductor, Annette Hale, eventually called with the child’s location, being placed into APD custody at the San Luis Obispo County Jail under $1 million bond for suspected kidnapping. Law enforcement safely returned Jeremy to his mother, who was staying the night at the El Camino Homeless Organization shelter.

“Thankfully, this story¾unlike so many others we hear about missing children in our country¾had a happy ending,” said Bob Freinberg, vice president and general manager for the Notification Solutions and Services business unit of Cassidian Communications. “We are truly honored to have helped this California community to reunite this brave young man with his mother. Congratulations to everyone involved in this tremendous search and rescue effort.”

Cassidian Communications continues to serve clients ranging from public safety operations to Fortune 1000 corporations to federal agencies. Collectively, the company has more than 40 years of experience deploying 9-1-1 call processing solutions, notification solutions and first responder digital trunked radio networks.

About Cassidian Communications (www.CassidianCommunications.com)

As the largest and most trusted source of mission critical communications solutions, Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America company, is leading the way in standards-based
NG9-1-1 call center applications, notification solutions and services, and P25 land mobile radio
systems. Headquartered in Temecula, California.
About EADS North America (www.eadsnorthamerica.com)

EADS North America is the North American operation of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services. As a leader in all sectors of defense and homeland security, EADS North America and its parent company, EADS, contribute over $11 billion to the U.S. economy annually and support more than 200,000 American jobs through its network of suppliers and services. Operating in 17 states, EADS North America offers a broad array of advanced solutions to its customers in the commercial, homeland security, aerospace and defense markets.

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