Amber Alert

Amber HagermanAMBER Alert was created in 1996 as a powerful legacy to nine-year-old Amber Hagerman, a bright little girl who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas. Her brutal murder shocked and outraged the entire community. Residents called 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.

Goal of AMBER Alert

The goal of AMBER Alert is to recover abducted children before they meet physical harm. Statistics show that time itself is the enemy of an abducted child, because most children who are kidnapped and later found murdered die within the first three hours after being taken. AMBER Alert aims to turn that statistic around. Studies show that when ordinary citizens become the eyes and ears of law enforcement, precious lives can be saved.

Missing Child Cases

AMBER Alerts are issued by a law enforcement agency in cooperation with the media only if the circumstances surrounding a child's disappearance meet local or state AMBER Alert criteria. If a case does not meet the criteria, many other investigative tools will be employed, such as tracking dogs, neighborhood canvasses, evidence collection, and a check of the state sex offender registry. An AMBER Alert is one of the tools in law enforcement's broader child recovery strategy, and even though an AMBER Alert is not issued, the media may be called upon to help with particular cases.

What You Should Do

AMBER Alert encourages everyone to be on the lookout for the abducted child and suspect. In the event that you spot a child, adult, or vehicle fitting the AMBER Alert description, call 911 immediately and provide authorities with as much information as possible.

What You Could Do

Help protect our children.

As a member of the community you can help further protect our children by:

  • Working with your local law enforcement agency to host a safety seminar at your school, church, community center, civic organization, or neighborhood group.
  • Knowing who lives in your community: Each state tracks sex offenders. Find out how to know who they are and where they live.
  • Paying more attention to missing children flyer's and notices in stores and mail-outs.
  • Keeping current information and photos of your own children.

For more information on how to keep our children safe please contact us at 561-266-5800.