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For many, fair week is one of the most anticipated weeks of the year.   

The Mower County Fair is into its annual run and by week’s end thousands will have walked through its gates for summer fun. The midway will be bustling, the grand stands will be shaking and animals will be shown.

With so much to do and see, the environment created at the fair can be hectic, busy, and oftentimes chaotic. For parents it can pose a challenge when keeping track of the kiddos they’ve brought with. With so much to do at the fair, visitors and kids will want to experience it all, so it becomes especially important to know where your kids are at any given moment.

Every year, the Mower County Sheriff’s Department is called on to find a missing child and often the child is found sooner than later after the child is noticed missing.

They have either been lured away by the sites, sounds and colors of the midway or been attracted by the food that is so prevalent at the fair. It takes only a moment for a child to slip away and become lost in the activity.

It can be a scary moment for both parents and child.

But there are also times when the search can last well into the night and the situation becomes much more scary. With a flood of people, the child can easily be carried away with the current and find themselves in unfamiliar territory.

As you are walking around the fair, please make the effort and take the extra steps in order to keep your children safe and have a plan just in case you become separated from your child: a cell phone, a familiar meeting place, etc. 

Have a conversation ahead of time that puts in place a plan for this very circumstance. If you become separated, where should you go and who should you ask for help are two of the biggest questions of this conversation that should have answers.

If the child has a phone, make sure they know that is one of their first lines of help.

Knowing who can help is another important aspect of this. Each day or night there are Mower County deputies and Austin Police officers that patrol the grounds as well as the mounted posse.

Mower County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Dave Pike urges people to reach out to those in uniform in order to make use of their resources in order to help find a child. That includes carnival workers who Pike said have a protocol in place to help unite parents and children.

Should a child become lost, parents are instructed to notify law enforcement or members of the Mower County Fair staff as soon as possible to facilitate a search quickly. The more people that are looking, the quicker a child will be found.

Pike urges parents to pay close attention to their children in the busier places of the fair, including the midway.

“Obviously, stick with them,” he said. “If they are on a ride, stand near the exists and keep track of them as a group.”

He also feels it could be beneficial to take have a picture on your cellphone or take a picture of your child, so if you do become separated from your child you have something to show those helping to search.

And finally, kids should use well known locations at the fair to help searchers locate them. To help with this, the fair has utilized colored flags throughout to act as meeting points if need be.

In all, Pike said that the fair has a good history when it comes to safety and simply urges people to use vigilance in order to keep that record in tack. The fair is meant to be fun, and it only takes some planning to make sure it remains fun.

“We’ve got a really good track record here,” he said. “Just be smart.”