Wave Technology Group and Child Watch of North America have launched a free iPhone app to coincide with National Missing Children’s Day.

Mayday is a family safety app for the iPhone to assist a family if one of their children goes missing. It features an electronic identification card which is displayed on the iPhone, along with information about the child or other family member which may be important to emergency management services in the event they are engaged. The electronic id can also be emailed. Statistics show that once a child has gone missing, it is the first three hours that are the most critical for successful rescue.

“Every day, more than 2,300 people, including children, go missing,” notes Wave Technology Group CEO and founder, Sam Cinquegrani. “Our goal is to leverage mobile technology to make a difference in this chronic problem and safeguard families susceptible to this unfortunate situation.”

Wave points out that Mayday is for all family members. In addition to missing children, Mayday digital photo IDs can also assist families with repeat runaway juveniles, and relatives who suffer memory loss from dementia or other mental illnesses.