Double Take -- by Mark Sproxton

Rrrrrrrrrring. Rrrrrrrrrring.

"Hello."

"Hi, it's me. We found 'em both safe and sound. We're just taking them back to their parents'. I'll call you later."

"That's great. Thanks."

Ninety-four per cent of the time Eric Sommerfeldt, Executive Director of Child Find Alberta, can smile when an investigation for missing children comes to an end. "I really like when we're able to find the kids," he said. "That's what fuels the battery. We have the highest success rate in North America and we're very proud of it."

Murrell's still unsolved disappearance helped kick start the Child Find Alberta organization.

The other six per cent of the calls, however, require immense strength to cope with inexplicable disappearances, or youngsters who have met a premature end. "Finding dead children, there's nothing worse," a sombre Sommerfeldt explained. "Unless, they're in a situation where they're being horribly abused and they don't want to leave. That's almost as bad. Fortunately, that doesn't happen often. Even though you never meet these kids, you care."

The former provincial social worker has been with Child Find Alberta for 13 years. That makes him the most senior case manager in the organization in Canada. He knows the learning never stops, particularly when it comes to searching for a missing child. "You have to have the skills to be constantly learning," he said. "It's not like earning a degree. For the next case that comes, the laws are changing, or you're in a foreign country. You've got to go back to school constantly."

As executive director of a non-profit agency, a sector where many working with children are employed, he's required to wear several hats. Those positions include a case worker who conducts the investigations, to fundraiser, to manager, to spokesperson, and on and on. The fundraising requirements are particularly significant, he said. "Instead of working for stuff that charges the batteries, you're working for stuff that has to keep the doors open. That's true in every non-profit."

Carolyn Pruyser is another Albertan still missing.

When looking for case managers, Sommerfeldt said people must be aware of the select skills they have, and recognize there are others with different skill sets who can compliment their work. "All the teaching in the world won't teach someone to be a case manager without the right attitude," he said. "The ring master role is really significant. Anybody that's firm and hard about their attitudes won't last. You have to be able to talk to a (creep) and not let him know you hate him so you get his co-operation."

A typical week for Sommerfeldt, who holds a Bachelor of Psychology degree, includes a core 35 hours at the office, as well as time in the evenings, and weekends. Time will be spent talking to other Child Find offices, victim support workers, with police, private investigators, the public who call in with tips, immigration, customs officials, interviewing parents, or employers.

While the job can be demanding, physically and emotionally, the rewards are more internal than monetary, Sommerfeldt concedes. "I don't know what I'm going to do when I'm 65 and don't have pension. Is it worth it? More days than not. But there is a price."