The Origin of the Amber Plan The AMBER Plan was created in 1996 as a powerful legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, a bright little girl who was kidnapped and brutally murdered while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas. The tragedy shocked and outraged the entire community. Residents contacted radio stations in the Dallas area and suggested they broadcast special "alerts" over the airwaves so that they could help prevent such incidents in the future.

In response to the community's concern for the safety of local children, the Dallas/Fort Worth Association of Radio Managers teamed up with local law-enforcement agencies in northern Texas and developed this innovative early warning system to help find abducted children. Statistics show that, when abducted, a child's greatest enemy is time.

In April, 2003, President Bush signed the Amber Alert legislation making it a national program. While the Amber Alert system is now mandated across the country, some states are still trying to implement the procedures necessary in bringing the alerts to the public. Hampered by outdated Emergency Broadcast guidelines and different activation criteria in each state, the system needs a fair amount of fine-tuning to be optimally effective. Code Amber is on the cutting edge with the technology helping to make that a reality.

 

MISSING CHILD EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

What to do if your child is missing.

This page is designed to be printed and distributed to as many people as possible.

IMMEDIATELY :

Call your local law enforcement office. This is extremely important. If your child has been abducted, a few hours may make all the difference. You are NOT wasting anyone's time. Every police officer would rather bring a child home safely within a few hours than to experience the frustration of an exhaustive and nonproductive search, or worse. . . be too late to save the child !

CONTACT A SEARCH CENTER

These Centers offer FREE help. Their staff members are highly trained and work closely with local and Federal law enforcement. They have the training to handle hot lines, take leads and disseminate those leads to the police. They are able to assist in local, regional, national and international searches.

Most phones are answered 24 hours a day. They will produce flyers at no cost, contact truck stops and other places where your child might be seen, and help you in setting up a local search center for your child. They will contact local TV and radio stations, newspapers, and utilize the Internet to get the word out as quickly as possible. Their help and support is vitally important to you. DO NOT hesitate. This is what they are there for. Call them !

 

The Lost Children's Network

1-877-898-5678

 

National Center for Missing And Exploited Children

1-800-THE-LOSTŪ (1-800-843-5678)

 

North American Missing Children Association (N.A.M.C.A.)

1-800-260-0753

 

MORE THINGS TO DO

Make a list of your child's friends, with phone numbers. Search through your child's room and go to your child's locker at school to find more names.

Find a recent photograph of your child. This will be needed by the police and for the flyers.

Call your church. If you don't belong to a church, call the largest church in your community.

You will need their help in distributing flyers.

Ask for help. You will be surprised at the number of people who are willing to drop everything and freely give you their time and efforts. During the search for Laura Smither, over 5,000 people became involved.

Most important of all -- realize that this is a very stressful time for you. Don't try to do everything yourself. Know that there are many people who are able and willing to do whatever it takes to help find your child. Call them.