BATON ROUGE — Jan. 13, is National AMBER Alert Awareness Day, a day designed to bring awareness to child abduction.
The AMBER Alert system launched nationwide in 2002, and was inspired by the 1996 abduction of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman. Amber was abducted from her Dallas, Texas, neighborhood while riding her bike.
A neighbor witnessed the abduction and reported the event in detail to the police. However, Amber’s body was discovered in a ditch several days later, only four miles from her home.
This tragedy inspired a concerned citizen to propose an idea that eventually evolved into today’s AMBER Alert system.
Since 2002, the AMBER Alert system has played a critical role in rescuing 1,221 children across the U.S., including 195 children who were saved specifically through wireless emergency alerts.
Louisiana uses one statewide plan, which is administered by the Louisiana State Police (LSP) with the cooperation of media partners. Louisiana’s plan sticks to the Department of Justice’s recommendations, which are outlined below.
If a situation doesn’t meet the full criteria of an AMBER Alert, a tool called the “Level II Endangered/Missing Child Advisory” can be utilized.
To issue an AMBER Alert, the following criteria must be met:
• Law enforcement confirms a child aged 17 or younger has been abducted.
• The circumstances of the abduction indicate the child is at risk of serious bodily harm or death.
• Sufficient descriptive information about the child, abductor, and/or suspect’s vehicle exists to believe that an immediate public alert will assist in the child’s recovery.
In June 2024, questions and frustrations came out after two young girls were reported missing from Tangipahoa Parish. One of the girls, a three-year-old named Erin, was killed while her older sister was found alive but injured.
The AMBER Alert in this case was released nearly three hours after the girls were reported missing.
In 2024, UWK spoke to spoke to Stacey Pearson, former LSP AMBER Alert coordinator, who said it’s important for LSP to follow their process before releasing an AMBER Alert and the delay is standard.
“I looked at 154 AMBER Alerts issued in the nation. Of the ones that the reporting times were known, in over 60% of those cases, the time between the children being reported missing and the activation (AMBER Alert) was greater than three hours,” she said. “I can say that an AMBER Alert should never be issued until all the relevant information has been received and confirmed and law enforcement has determined that issuing an AMBER Alert is in the best interest of this abducted child.”
She added that AMBER Alerts are not the only tools to solve missing child cases. While the first three hours are crucial in any abduction, she said that it’s important to keep the focus on the main two factors in any child abduction case.
“We have to remember that the two most relevant factors in recovering children are the abductor’s relationship to the children and the abductor’s decision making. A perfect law enforcement investigation can sometimes not overcome the abductor’s decision to harm a child,” Pearson said.
The public plays an important role in the success of AMBER Alerts. By staying alert, observing your surroundings, and reporting even seemingly minor details, you can help bring an abducted child home safely.
For more information on AMBER Alert, visit:
www.LSP.org
www.louisianaamberalert.com
www.amberalert.gov
www.missingkids.com
www.wirelessamberalerts.org
Download the Unfiltered with Kiran app from the Apple App Store and Google Play to stay updated on the latest news across the Capital area.
Help support UWK and their mission to continue providing you “The News You Deserve. Unfiltered.” Sign up to become a monthly patron via Patreon.
