How age-progression software helps find missing kids

Age-progression images are a critical tool in helping identify missing children after an abduction or missing person’s report, says Steve Loftin, the Supervisor for National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the Forensic Imaging Unit, based in Alexandria, Virginia.

Loftin told FoxNews.com their Forensic Imaging Specialists, as they are known, have used new features in Adobe Photoshop for color-matching and light-matching. Using reference photos from siblings, parents, and other relatives, the specialists can create realistic age-progressed images that show the correct bone structure, skin tones, and even hair styles.

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” explained Loftin, who says the reference images for the parents and siblings are helpful for constructing the age progressions. More