If you are a MySpace user, they have no implemented a new application to keep track of Amber Alerts. The application can be added to users’ profiles to help spread the word of Amber Alerts across the country.
You simply install the Amber Alert application like any other Myspace application. Once installed an Amber Alert box will appear on your profile displaying any current alerts, or if there are none, the text "There are no active alerts" will appear.
This system covers Amber Alerts for both the United States and Canada.
Data forensics expert and iPhone developer Jonathan Zdziarski has created an Amber Alert iPhone application to assist in finding missing children. Utilizing the GPS function built into the iPhone, it helps alert local law enforcement when a missing child has been spotted.
The app lists all current, active AMBER alerts with a small photo of the victim. Clicking one of the alerts brings up detailed information about the abduction, including physical description, last known whereabouts, and details and photos of suspects (if any). A "Report Sighting" button allows you to report a sighting of a victim or suspects along with your current GPS coordinates. This information is analyzed for accuracy and forwarded to the investigating state patrol agency that issued the AMBER alert.
"The iPhone is ideal for not only disseminating [the alert] information, but also for its GPS, which can allow us to aggregate multiple sightings together to assess credibility and to also build better reporting logic to the state police conducting these investigations," according to Zdziarksi.
The application will be free for download as soon as it is approved by Apple.
Some states tomorrow are recognizing the 13th anniversary of the Amber Alert program, and Alabama is one of them. WTVY out of Dothan, Alabama has all of the details about the acknowledgement of the day:
In Alabama, 14 AMBER Alerts have been issued through the state’s Emergency Alert System since the state’s AMBER Alert program became operational in May 2003. Alabama’s AMBER program is conducted in partnership with the Alabama Broadcasters Association, the Department of Public Safety, participating local law enforcement agencies and the Alabama Department of Transportation.
“The AMBER program has proven time and again to be an invaluable tool in the safe recovery of abducted and endangered children,” said Col. J. Christopher Murphy, Department of Public Safety director. “When circumstances indicate a child has been abducted and is in harm’s way, time is of the essence,” said Murphy. “Key to this program’s success in Alabama and nationwide is its capacity to get identifying information out quickly and to as many people as possible.”
Murphy repeated the five criteria that must be met before an AMBER Alert may be issued: law enforcement confirms that a child has been abducted; the child must be younger than 18; circumstances indicate to law enforcement that the child is endangered; there is enough available descriptive information about the child, abductor, or suspect’s vehicle to believe an immediate broadcast alert will help in locating the child; and the child’s information is entered into the National Crime Information Center Database.
A Wisconsin man is being charged after causing a false Amber Alert to be issued. WISN.com out of Milwaukee reports the following:
Glendale police said Willie Johnson called to report his ex-girlfriend and her 11-month-old daughter had been kidnapped by the baby’s father, Wesley Vann. Vann is one of Milwaukee’s 10 most wanted criminals.
Police issued an Amber Alert after talking with Johnson Sunday morning. The mother and daughter were found in a hotel a short time later. The mother told police they had never been kidnapped. Police said Johnson lied to them because he wanted his ex found quickly. Johnson is now charged with obstructing an officer.
Police said they are taking the case very seriously because they don’t want anyone abusing the Amber Alert system.
A great idea in the form of “Tweet 4 Missing Kids” is a great way to quickly spread information about missing children and Amber Alerts. Here’s how you can participate:
Every 40 seconds, somewhere in the world, a child is reported missing. Unfortunately, many of those missing will never be heard from again.
But thanks to the "magic of Twitter", the search for a missing child can begin literally around the world in just seconds, greatly increasing the chances of the child being found safe. Here’s how you can help.
1. Follow tweet4missing on Twitter to receive missing children and Amber alerts.
2. Retweet the alerts you get from tweet4missing to your followers with the hashmark #t4mk included in the tweet so it will show up in our Summize and Twemes public timelines.
3. If you hear of an Amber alert or missing child report, send a tweet about it to your followers and include, @tweet4missing. We will then forward your report to all of our followers.
4. If possible, please add tweet4missing’s Twitter, Summize, or Twemes RSS feed to your blog or website.
A rolling billboard in the Orlando, Florida area has been commissioned by the Kid Finders Network to help get the faces of missing children out to the masses. Since one in six children are found with the aid of just a simple photograph, the billboard could help many find their way back home.
The Center for Missing and Exploited Children lists 365 kids missing in Florida.
The founders of Kid Finders Network want to keep all the faces of the kids fresh in your mind with a rolling billboard that features a dozen missing children and adults.
Bryan Hayes and Mark Degner, classmates and friends, walked away from their Jacksonville middle school more than three years ago. They haven’t been seen since.
Family members of those on the billboard said they never give up hope.
"I tell you, that every place we go, I don’t care where it is, we are always looking. If we see someone that looks like either one of them, we’re looking," said Bryan’s grandmother Alene Hayes.
To see a video on the story, check out CFNews13.com.
The Amber Alert system covers a lot of ground when it comes to letting the public know a child is missing, but what about avenues it doesn’t cover? Nate Ritter, a web designer and programmer, decided to add another link to the chain and with a little bit of skill was able to implement a missing children feed through popular social networking site Twitter. Nate explains how it all got started:
What was your motivation for starting this project?
Nate Ritter: Living in California my wife and I are used to seeing traffic warnings and alerts about missing or endangered children displayed above the highways.
After the California wildfires in October 2007 and seeing how Twitter could easily get information to people’s cell phones, I thought it would be great to have these kind of messages sent to the public. It would help notify those people who aren’t on the highways, and could probably be faster too.
I was also motivated because my mom’s sister went missing quite a few years ago and hasn’t been seen since. The technology at that time wasn’t anything like it is now, but there’s still some missing pieces even today. I just wanted to connect those pieces because I saw the opportunity to help people.
To read the rest of Nate’s interview, check out this site.
An Amber Alert is the most widely know system of finding missing children. But did you know that one is not always issued should a child go missing? Each state has very strict criteria for how to issue an alert. Las Vegas Metro Police Sergeant Tom Wagner informs us on the qualifications to issue an Amber Alert in Nevada:
First, for an Amber Alert to be issued, there has to be a confirmed abduction. "So, what we want is somebody that saw the abduction, whether there was a note left by a suspect," said Sergeant Wagner.
Secondly, the child must be under 18. Third, there must be threat of serious bodily harm or death. And fourth, police need something to tell the public. Explains Wagner, "Whether that’s the description of the vehicle, whether that’s a license plate, suspect’s name, suspect’s description."
And when that information goes away, so does the Amber Alert. When the car the Ortega brothers were in was found, even though the boys were still missing, the Amber Alert ended. "So we’re going to be very careful when we activate an Amber Alert to make sure it fits those four criteria."
And the system works. Out of 30 Alerts issues in Nevada since the inception of the program in 2004, 29 children were found safe.
Did you know there is not a national Amber Alert system? This, according to AmberAlert.com:
There is a common misconception is that there is a ?National AMBER System.? In fact, the Department of Justice administers an unfunded mandate that requires each state to implement the AMBER Plan. Each state been challenged to find, develop and maintain its own alert distribution partners and channels.
The AMBER Plan is implemented in each state in the following fashion:
Once law enforcement officials confirm a missing child report, an Amber Alert is sent to radio stations, television stations, and cable companies, and can be text messaged without charges to some wireless telephone subscribers. Broadcasters interrupt programming to relay the information using the EAS to voluntarily deliver the information to the community - the same concept that is used during severe weather or national emergencies. A description of the abducted child, suspected abductor, and details of the abduction are broadcast to millions of listeners and viewers. (The Alert is read after a distinctive sound tone and the announcement: "This is an AMBER Alert.") The Alert also provides information about how members of the public who have information relating to the abduction may contact the police or other appropriate law enforcement agency.
The more you know about how the Amber Alert system works, the quicker we can all help missing children be returned safely to their homes. Additional child safety services, like InstantAmber, help enhance the responsiveness of this service.
