In January of 1996, a nine year old girl was riding her bike outside of her home. Her parents were inside, never suspecting that a kidnapper was stalking their daughter. A neighbor witnessed the kidnapping, and called the police. When it was discovered that the young girl was missing, her parents notified the FBI, as well as local news media. The search for the girl was organized by her parents, as well as several of their neighbors. The search continued for an excruciating four days, in which the girl’s parents hoped for any news of their daughter. After four days, a man (who was walking his dog) discovered the body of a small girl in a drainage ditch, which was identified as the missing child. The girl’s name was Amber Hagerman, and she is the reason we now have the “AMBER Alert” for missing children.
Though Amber’s kidnapper was never found, it prompted several legislative acts to be passed to help orchestrate the search for missing children. Amber’s parents went on to establish P.A.S.O. (People Against Sex Offenders), which gathered signatures to help ensure stricter laws regarding the event in which a child is missing. The organization received widespread support, mostly in the form of donated internet service, office space, office supplies and computer services. In October of 1996, the current president Bill Clinton signed the “Amber Hagerman Child Protection Act”. For the next two years, an AMBER Alert could be manually reported to news stations. Some time later, the Child Alert Foundation helped automate the AMBER Alert process, which was refined into the current system that we have today.
Requirements for an AMBER Alert
To avoid false alerts, there are several requirements that need to be met. However, law enforcement officials sometimes disregard criteria in the event that they believe an Alert is necessary.
Confirmed Abduction
In order for an AMBER Alert to be issued, law enforcement officials must believe that an abduction has actually taken place. This is one of the most strictly enforced requirements.
Child At Risk
A child must be reasonably believed to be either at risk or in a life-threatening situation in order for an AMBER Alert to be issued. However, there are sometimes exceptions. Even if a child’s life is not believed to be in immediate danger (such as in the event of certain family or divorce-related kidnappings), an AMBER Alert may be issued for the missing child.
Descriptive Information
In order for an effective AMBER Alert to be issued, there must be enough information to make the issuing of the alert useful to recovering the child. Important information includes: a description of the child’s appearance, the child’s age, any known suspects, a description of the kidnapper’s vehicle, a description of the kidnapper, etc.
17 or Under
Since the AMBER Alert system is designed to be for children, the missing child must be 17 years of age or younger.
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