Lincoln--Each year, the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office invites 5th graders from across the state to participate in a poster competition. The posters are intended to raise awareness of missing children and remind parents, guardians, and caregivers to make the safety of their children a priority.

Alyiah American Horse from Gordon, Nebraska is the 2016, first place contest winner. Her poster pictures a globe, overlaid on a brick wall, encircled by the phrase “Everyday children around the world go missing.” She brings the stark reality of this problem home by including sketches of two posters picturing missing young girls, flanking the globe on either side.

As winner of the state contest, Aliya’s poster will be submitted to a national competition with the U.S. Department of Justice. This event allows young students from across the United States opportunity to creatively express the theme, “Bringing Our Missing Children Home.” The national winner will be awarded at the annual ceremony in May recognizing National Missing Children’s Day.