When then-15-year-old Keshaun Williams did not return from a party last June, his mother reported him missing to Cleveland police. The department issued an Amber Alert. Keshaun is still missing and that alert is still active.
How do police determine when to issue an Amber Alert? And how effective are the alerts when it comes to finding missing children and teens.
Who Created Amber Alerts and why?
In January 1996, Amber Hagerman was riding her bike in her Arlington, Texas, neighborhood when a man in a truck snatched her, threw her in the front seat and sped away. A neighbor saw what happened to the nine-year-old and called the police. Those details were shared in daily news stories until she was found dead a few miles from her home.
Wondering if more could have been done to help, a resident contacted a local Texas radio station suggesting media outlets should repeat breaking news about abducted children the same way they do severe weather alerts. Dallas media companies agreed and named the program after Amber. The program went nationwide a few years later with each letter of Amber’s name used to create the title: America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.
When did Amber Alerts start in Ohio?
The Ohio AMBER Alert Advisory committee is made up of representatives from law enforcement and government agencies, broadcasters, state emergency management teams, victims’ advocates and community members.
Ohio’s Amber Alert plan was launched on Jan. 1, 2003.
When is an Amber Alert issued?
When law enforcement officials are notified that a child has been abducted, they must determine if the case meets AMBER Alert criteria:
- Law enforcement confirms the child is under 18 years of age.
- Law enforcement believes the abduction poses a credible threat of immediate danger or serious bodily harm or death to the child.
- There is sufficient descriptive information about the child, the suspect, and/or the circumstances surrounding the abduction to believe that activation of the alert will help locate the child.
- A law enforcement agency determines the child is not a runaway and has not been abducted as a result of a family abduction, unless the investigation determines the child is in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death.
How are Amber Alerts sent?
Law enforcement notifies broadcasters and state transportation officials when they issue Amber Alerts. The alerts interrupt regular programming on radio and television. They are also displayed on ODOT highway signs. They can be sent through lottery broadcasts, digital billboards and internet search engines. The Wireless Emergency Alert program sends Amber Alerts to your mobile device when you are in the geographic area where an alert has been issued.
How effective have alerts been?
There are a few experts who say the answer is unclear. Some research claims there is minimal effect. And some missing person advocacy groups see limits to how the alerts work.
But there is evidence that Amber Alerts do save lives. According to the U.S. Department of Justice national Amber Alert website:
“The AMBER Alert program as of December 31, 2023, has contributed to the recovery of 1,200 children across the United States, and wireless emergency alerts resulted in the rescue of at least 180 children.”
