HISTORY: 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 had 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).

Mid-Ohio AMBER Alert was founded in 2001, one of the first regional AMBER Alert plans in Ohio, and is recognized as the regional AMBER Alert Plan for Franklin and nine Central Ohio counties.

In January 2003, Governor Bob Taft appointed the Ohio AMBER Alert Steering Committee to coordinate the AMBER Plan for Ohio. In 2004, the Ohio AMBER Plan issued 29 AMBER Alerts, resulting in the safe recovery of 31 children.

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What is the AMBER Plan?

AMBER Alert is a partnership between law enforcement authorities, broadcasters, transportation officials and others to notify the public when a child has been abducted and is in danger AMBER. A government study shows that 74% of children murdered by their abductors are killed within three hours. However, statistics indicate parents wait an average of two hours before notifying police their child is missing. Alert is a limited yet effective tool, which should be used only in cases of child abduction where there is a danger of injury of loss of life. The AMBER Alert is not intended to report runaways, missing persons or lost children; resolve custody or visitation disputes or address school truancy problems.

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How does it work?

When law enforcement authorities believe an AMBER Alert will help in the safe recovery of a missing child, they use radio, television, freeway message boards and other methods to get information to the public.

AMBER Alerts are not appropriate in all cases, so they must first determine that the case calls for an AMBER Alert. Most AMBER Plans follow the recommended guidelines from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). In Mid-Ohio, these are the criteria that should be met before an Alert is activated:

►The victim is in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury

►The child is under 18.

►Law enforcement officials believe that an abduction has taken place.

►Enough reliable descriptive information exists for law enforcement to believe an AMBER Alert will be effective.

►There is convincing circumstantial evidence of foul play.

►The investigating agency believes that an AMBER Alert may enhance the recovery of the child.

Information in an AMBER Alert may include:

• descriptions and photos of victim and suspect

• descriptions, photos, license number of suspect vehicle

• possible route of travel

• statewide toll-free tip line: 1-877-AMBER-OH

In the Mid-Ohio AMBER Alert Plan, a local law enforcement agency requests an AMBER Alert from a County Sheriff’s Office or the Ohio Highway Patrol who activate the Emergency Alert System (EAS), immediately notifying local broadcasters. Radio stations may interrupt programming to announce the alert, and television stations and cable systems may run a “crawl” on the screen or air a picture of the child. Notices are also sent to the Ohio Department of Transportation and information is relayed to motorists on freeway message boards.

Information is sent to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and is automatically forwarded to the Ohio Missing Children’s Clearinghouse, Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  The Truckers’ Initiative, utility companies and other partners are notified via e-mail. Information, including photos, is posted on the Ohio AMBER Plan web site.

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How can people help?

If you believe a child has been abducted, call 9-1-1.

Parents should be ready to provide the most recent color photograph of the child, along with other methods to identify your child. This may include fingerprints, hair sample, blood type and physical description, including a description of the clothes the child was wearing. Child ID kits are available from Mid-Ohio AMBER Alert.

You can help prevent abductions by following some safety tips from the Ohio Missing Children’s Clearinghouse.

When you hear or see an AMBER Alert, take note of the information including descriptions of the missing child, suspect and vehicle, especially the license number. Posters with photos and other important information will be posted on the Ohio AMBER Plan web site. If you believe you have seen the missing child, the suspect or the vehicle, or have any information that might help locate the child, call the telephone number to the local police agency or 1-877-AMBER-OH. Do not attempt to approach the suspect yourself as they may be dangerous.

If you would like to help Mid-Ohio AMBER Alert, contact Mike Rankin, Coordinator at (614) 361-1622 or  mrankin@columbus.rr.com

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Who pays for the AMBER Alert?

AMBER Alert currently receives no government funding. It is coordinated and operated by law enforcement, other safety and child-welfare officials, broadcasters and transportation officials as part of their regular duties or in their spare time. The most important elements -- such as the Emergency Alert System for broadcasters and the Ohio Department of Transportation's Variable Message Signs -- are already paid for. Other programs  have been funded by donations or grants but AMBER receives no funding from taxes.

 If you would like to support Mid-Ohio AMBER Alert as a sponsor or volunteer, please contact us.

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