Lillia Kaschmitter is statewide poster contest winner
A surprise awaited Prairie Elementary School fifth grader Lillia Kaschmitter when she returned to her classroom following band last Tuesday, March 11.
“What?” she said, quietly confused as her parents, grandparents and several ISP (Idaho State Police) personnel lined the room, along with her teacher Alecia Hagen and her fellow classmates.
“We’re here today because we had a poster contest and Lillia is our first-place winner for the state of Idaho,” smiled Kara Kelley, Idaho Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager out of Meridian.
The Idaho State Police (ISP), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice, announced its  42nd Annual National Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest earlier this year with the theme of “Bringing Our Missing Children Home.”
National Missing Children’s Day, observed annually on May 25, raises awareness about child abduction and honors those working tirelessly to protect children. This day was established in memory of Etan Patz, a 6-year-old boy who went missing in 1979, serving as a poignant reminder of the ongoing need for prevention, education, and advocacy.
ISP officer A.J. Bingham, out of Lewiston, was also ready to offer congratulations to Kaschmitter, the daughter of Shawn and Katherine Kaschmitter.
“Here’s a gift of ISP swag,” he told the grinning student, who also received a certificate from the state and the honor of having her poster be forwarded on to the national competition. A win there would mean a trip to Washington, D.C. for Kaschmitter, her parents and her teacher.
Kaschmitter, 10, explained her poster depicted a parent and missing child’s hands meeting in the sky.
“Because they don’t know where their child is, but they are still connected,” she explained. She produced the artwork in teacher Shane Chapman’s art class.
Kelley also congratulated additional submissions that came from Prairie fifth graders: Claire Michels, Morgan Ruzicka and Hailey Frei.