LOUISVILLE, Ky. (LEX18) — A Louisville-area man channeled his grief over his father's disappearance and death into a technology platform designed to help find missing people.
Jyrone Parker created Project Azziz — a platform combining human effort and artificial intelligence — while spending months searching for his 54-year-old father, Jyronna Parker, who went missing Oct. 17, 2025. Jyronna's body was found in the Ohio River in Clarksville, Indiana, on March 22.
"Still very fresh, and I don't. I don't know how long that grief process is going to take. I'm not questioning it. I'm taking it in strides because my outlet is this," Jyrone said.
The app's launch comes as Jyrone marks what would have been his father's birthday on Mother's Day.
"My father was the epitome of strength and patience. He was a gentle parent. Never struck me but held me to a high standard," Jyrone said.
Project Azziz uses both software and hardware to help locate missing people and those at risk of going missing.
"So project azziz is a culmination of human and AI in technology using it to find and locate missing people. And people who are at risk of being missing," Jyrone said.
Users can upload photos, videos, and tips about a missing person. While helping to organize search parties, pinpoint recent sightings, and send information to both families and local law enforcement. The platform also allows users to issue what Jyrone calls an "Azziz alert."
"Someone can put up what's called an aziz alert if somebody's loved one has gone missing. And it goes out to everyone in the local community. So that's the citizen part," Jyrone said. "If anybody went missing in this triangle, or somebody got an alert it would go out to I think 198 people right here."
The system's AI-powered cameras allow first responders and media to communicate while using solar power to trace a missing person's voice and face.
Jyrone used the technology during his own search, loading facial and voice recognition models trained on his father's likeness and placing cameras around the city in approved locations.
"I loaded up AI models facial and voice recognition from my father. And you know I had these placed around the city in places I had permission you know, and you might be able to see him," Jyrone said.
He eventually hopes to add the camera's to national and state parks, urban areas, and schools. He also plans to build a smart watch that helps alert loved ones if a person with dementia goes missing, or moves from their location.
"He'd be telling me how proud he is of me. That's something that I firmly know that my father was always proud of me. Happy Birthday dad, I love you," Jyrone said.
