AMBER Alerts: Make A Difference For Abducted Children

Poster by Rachel Stevenson, winner of 2007 DOJ National Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest.

The AMBER Alert was created in memory of Amber Hagerman, a nine-year old girl in Arlington, Texas who was snatched from her bicycle and found brutally murdered in a drainage ditch four miles away. A neighbor heard Amber scream and saw a man pull Amber from her bike and speed off in his pickup truck. The neighbor provided police with a description of the suspect and his vehicle.

Local radio repeated special alerts and in 1997 the AMBER Plan was created. The AMBER Plan is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement agencies and broadcasters to immediately distribute information about abducted children to the public so the entire community can assist in the safe recovery of the child. Here are some AMBER Alert success stories.

In an effort to get even more people involved in the safe recovery of children, CTIA, the wireless telecommunications association created the Wireless AMBER Alert System in May, 2006. AMW encourages you to sign up for wireless AMBER Alerts.

If a child is abducted in your area and you want to activate an AMBER Alert, contact your local law enforcement agency. The first three hours are the most critical time in the abduction of a child. For more information about AMBER Alerts and what to do when an AMBER Alert is issued, check out the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s website.

The public becomes the eyes and ears of law enforcement during an AMBER Alert. If you see a child or vehicle reported in an AMBER Alert, immediately call the number listed in the alert and report as much information as you know.

You can find active and past AMBER Alerts right here on amw.com.