The AMBER Alert — America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) — is named in… The post Texas DPS Recognizes National AMBER Alert Day appeared first on MyParisTexas.
The AMBER Alert — America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) — is named in honor of Amber Hagerman, a nine-year-old girl who was kidnapped and brutally murdered in 1996. AMBER Alerts are now a critical resource to inform the public about serious child abductions.
AMBER Alerts are issued for children 17 or younger whose whereabouts are unknown and when there is a credible threat to the child’s safety and well-being. These alerts are a lifesaving tool that can help law enforcement bring a child home safely. When an alert has been activated, DPS asks all Texans to be alert and observant of their surroundings. Once the description of the missing person, suspect or vehicle is shared, please be aware of possible matches. You should call 911 immediately if you have information to share with law enforcement.
Each alert in the Statewide Alert Program — which is administered by DPS — is issued to bring awareness to missing persons cases and/or generate leads for law enforcement with the goal of locating missing persons, capturing dangerous criminals and collecting valuable information. Alerts are issued at the request of law enforcement and when criteria for the specific alert is met.
In recognition of National AMBER Alert Day, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) reminds Texans of the importance of this lifesaving tool—and the entire Statewide Alert Program—as a critical resource to public safety efforts in the state.
“As Texans, looking out for one another—especially our children—is second nature,” said DPS Colonel Freeman F. Martin. “So many children have been rescued and returned home to their families because of the tips provided by the public through AMBER Alerts. On this National AMBER Alert Day, and every day, please remember to remain vigilant so we can work together to better protect our communities.”
In 2024, DPS activated 47 AMBER Alerts in Texas. When an alert has been activated, DPS asks all Texans to pay attention to alert messages and to be observant of their surroundings. If an alert is posted either on a highway sign or information is shared in other formats such as mobile phones, broadcasts or social media, take time to read and digest the information. Once the description of the child, suspect or vehicle is shared, be aware of possible matches. Texans should immediately call 911 if they have information to share with law enforcement.
AMBER Alerts
America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response or AMBER Alerts inform the public of serious child abductions to generate tips and leads for law enforcement agencies. The name AMBER Alerts was given in honor of Amber Hagerman, a nine-year-old girl who was abducted while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas in 1996. Four days later, she was found brutally murdered in a creek just a few miles from her home.
Local community reaction to the brutal kidnapping and death of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman of Arlington, TX (1996), prompted local media and law enforcement to create the nation’s first AMBER Alert program in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area. AMBER Alerts inform the public of serious child abductions, in an effort to promote tips and leads to law enforcement. In memory of the tragic death of Amber Hagerman, the letters of her name can be seen within the title of the program, America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER).
In 2002, Governor Rick Perry created the state’s AMBER Alert network per Executive Order RP-16, later codified through legislation in 2003. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) was given legislative authority to coordinate the state’s AMBER Alert network, which served as the role model for the subsequent Silver, Blue, and Endangered Missing Persons alert programs.
In 2023, Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation authorizing local area activation of the AMBER Alert system in certain circumstances, in honor of seven-year-old Athena Strand, who was kidnapped and murdered in Wise County in 2022. Under this legislation, a request for local area alert activation may be made by a law enforcement agency that knows a child is missing but has not verified the Amber Alert criteria, and if the chief law enforcement officer of the local law enforcement agency believes that activation of the alert system is warranted.
The below represents AMBER Alert criteria for the state’s network:
- Is this child 17 years of age or younger, whose whereabouts are unknown, and whose disappearance law enforcement has determined to be unwilling which poses a credible threat to the child’s safety and health; and if abducted by a parent or legal guardian, was the abduction in the course of an attempted murder or murder?
OR
Is this child 13 years of age or younger, who was taken (willingly or unwillingly) without permission from the care and custody of a parent or legal guardian by:- Someone unrelated and more than three years older,
or - Another parent or legal guardian who attempted or committed murder at the time of the abduction?
- Someone unrelated and more than three years older,
- Is this child in immediate danger of sexual assault, death or serious bodily injury?
- Has a preliminary investigation verified the abduction and eliminated alternative explanations for the child’s disappearance?
- Is sufficient information available to disseminate to the public to help locate the child, a suspect, or the vehicle used in the abduction?
Texas’ Statewide Alert Program
DPS is responsible for administering multiple alerts as part of the Statewide Alert Program. Each of these alerts—and the criteria needed to activate them—is established by laws passed by the Texas Legislature. The Statewide Alert Program issues urgent public safety warnings meant to warn the public of possible danger for themselves or a missing person. Each is designed to speed up the apprehension of a violent criminal and/or locate missing persons and children by generating tips and leads for the investigating agencies—therefore giving those agencies the best opportunity to apprehend a criminal or rescue someone who is at-risk. In addition to AMBER Alerts, the Statewide Alert Program includes Silver, Blue, Endangered Missing Persons, CLEAR, Power Outage and Active Shooter alerts.
Alert Activation
DPS activates an alert when an authorized requestor declares in writing that the required activation criteria has been met. DPS continues the activation until the requestor asks that it be discontinued. Agencies typically request discontinuation after the missing or wanted person has been found alive, if the investigating agency has reason to believe that the missing or wanted person is deceased or if the investigating agency determines that the alert is no longer needed, even though the person may still be wanted or missing.
An archive of all alerts activated by DPS, including AMBER Alerts, can be found on the department’s website, here. It is important to note that alerts that are no longer active are labeled as Found or Discontinued, though this status should be considered preliminary and unofficial. DPS does not maintain a comprehensive or official record of the outcome of each activated alert. Instead, confirming the outcome of a particular alert should be obtained from the investigating agency.
Source and photo credit: dps.texas.gov
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