Announcements

[Tombstone]

History of the Amber Alert Plan

In January 1996, nine year old Amber Hagerman was riding her bicycle when a neighbor heard the girl scream. The neighbor saw a man pull Amber off her bike, throw her into the front seat of his pickup truck, and drive away at a high speed. The neighbor called police and provided a description of the suspect and his vehicle, but couldn't recall much else. Arlington, TX police and the FBI interviewed other neighbors and searched for the suspect and vehicle. Local radio and TV stations covered the story in their regular newscasts. Four days later, Amber's body was found in a drainage ditch four miles away. Her throat has been cut. Her kidnapping and murder remain unsolved.

A concerned citizen contacted a Dallas, TX radio station suggesting the idea that Dallas radio stations should repeat news bulletins about abducted children just like they do severe weather warnings. The idea was presented to the general managers of the radio stations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. They agreed that such a program would provide an important public service and might help save the life of a child.

The Dallas Amber Plan was started in July 1997 to help safely recover missing children that police believe have been abducted. Since then, the program has successfully recovered eight children and expanded to other cities and states nationwide.

Although the Amber Plan is named after Amber Hagerman, this national program is dedicated to all children nationwide who've been abducted. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, up to 4600 children are abducted by strangers every year (about 12 children nationwide every day).

-------------
FCC Guidelines for Broadcasters

A recently enacted component of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) has been credited with aiding in the rescue of several missing children who were kidnapped by strangers. It's called the AMBER Plan.

It Works Like This

Once police officials have confirmed a missing child report, an alert is sent to radio stations, television stations, and cable companies. Broadcasters interrupt programming to relay the information using the EAS to voluntarily deliver the information to the community - the same concept used during severe weather or national emergencies. A description of the abducted child, suspected abductor and details of the abduction are broadcast to millions of listeners and viewers. (The alert is read after a distinctive sound tone and the statement: "This is an AMBER Alert.") The alert also provides information about how members of the public who have information relating to the abduction may contact the police or other appropriate law enforcement agency.

The goal of the AMBER Plan is to galvanize an entire community, adding millions of extra eyes and ears to watch, listen, and help in the safe return of the child and apprehension of the suspect.

The EAS is used to notify the public about severe weather and other national emergencies. In order to prevent the over use of the EAS system, two criteria must usually be met to enact the AMBER Plan:

1. A child must be 15 years of age or younger, or have a proven mental or physical disability; and

2. Police must believe the child is in danger of serious bodily harm or death.

What You Can Do

If you see a child, adult, or vehicle fitting the AMBER Alert description, immediately call the telephone number given in the AMBER Alert and provide authorities with as much information as possible.

Remember

The AMBER Alerts are only used for the most serious child abduction cases, where the police believe the child is in danger of serious bodily harm or death, not for runaways or most parental abductions.