By Erica Teichert
A 10-year-old, brown-haired girl rode her bike one early January morning in Arlington, Texas. A scream pierced the air and a neighbor called 911.
It had been eight minutes since Amber Hagerman left her grandparents' house to ride her bike around the block. Her body was found in a creek bed four days later.
Amber's murder, which has gone unsolved for 12 years, sparked the AMBER Alert (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) system that started in Dallas in July 1997. Since then, AMBER Alerts have become a nationwide system and has helped return 393 children safely home.
"The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for the safe recovery of the child," according to AmberAlert.gov..
Utah's first AMBER Alert was issued in 2002 for Elizabeth Smart, a Salt Lake City girl abducted at knifepoint from her bedroom. Now, 22 AMBER Alerts have been issued in the state and 18 children have been found safely. Unfortunately, the latest AMBER Alert child was not so fortunate. Hser Nay Moo, a 7-year-old Burmese immigrant living in South Salt Lake City, was found murdered in a neighbor's home on April 1.
Police have been criticized in waiting too long to issue an AMBER Alert in Hser's case. However, autopsy results released recently showed the girl had been murdered within an hour of leaving her home on March 31, three hours before her parents informed police.
In order to issue an AMBER Alert, law enforcement must confirm the abduction, there must be a risk of serious bodily injury or death and the child must be under 17 years of age. Some states, including Ohio, have proposed legislation creating an AMBER Alert system for adults, including those with mental disabilities or Alzheimer's.
According to the National Center for Exploited Children, 750,000 children are reported missing, lost or runaway every year. The stereotypical stranger who is often publicized in the media abducts only 115 children, such as the case of Amber and Elizabeth. Out of those few children, nine out of 10 are female, half are sexually assaulted and three out of four are killed within three hours of abduction.
The center assists law enforcement by releasing AMBER Alerts to secondary distributors, such as businesses and organizations that can inform their customers. Concerned citizens already forward text messages relaying information about local abducted children. The FCC recently approved the use of text messages to distribute emergency responses, including AMBER Alerts.
"Traffic hazards are a much greater danger to your child than a kidnapper," the Polly Klaas Foundation states. "We can teach kids what to do if lost or approached by someone questionable in the same way we teach them how to cross the street."
The Polly Klaas Foundation, which was created in honor of a 12-year-old girl abducted and murdered in Petaluma, Calif., in October 1993, helps bring attention to the cases of missing children.
"We're support for the families," said Cindy Rudometkin, director of the Missing Children Division of the foundation. "We provide fliers, publicize the children on our Web site and take leads based on any information."
Since the foundation's start in 1993, it has provided help for families in more than 6,700 cases nationwide. The foundation includes a 24/7 hotline to take tips from anonymous callers.
The foundation encourages parents to teach their children at a young age what to do if they are ever abducted.
When children are preschool-age and younger, parents can help implement safety measures by teaching them to scream "no!" when they feel unsafe. Never use the word "stranger" when talking to your children, as that usually depicts a dirty, scary-looking person rather than the safe, friendly-looking individuals who can be more dangerous.
The foundation recommends playing a game with children to show them what to do when lost in a store. Parents can ask their children "what if" questions. Remind children to find another mother with children or a cashier in a store, as they are the safest individuals to approach and will help reunite them with their parents.
Many AMBER Alert awareness Web sites include advertisements for child ID kits. Many include fingerprinting and DNA collection. Children should know their parents' full names, address and home phone number by heart in case they are ever separated.
Make sure children are always playing in groups, as they are safer than a child alone. No matter what, it is never a child's fault if he or she has been hurt, kidnapped or abused.
AMBER Alerts have revolutionized law enforcement's ability to bring children home. Now, 99.8 percent of children who go missing return home.
Copyright Brigham Young University 30 Apr 2008
