Amber Alert History

From LoveToKnow Safety

The nation’s amber alert history began in 1996 with the tragic murder of a nine-year-old girl in Arlington, Texas, named Amber Hagerman.

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Arlington, Texas: January 1996

While riding her bike near the home of her grandparents on January 13, 1996, a man pulled little Amber Hagerman off her bike and threw her into his pick up truck. Neighbors heard the little girl screaming as they witnessed the abduction but could do nothing except call the police as the truck sped away with Amber in the front seat. Although the neighbors were able to give the police a description of the man and the truck, the kidnapper was never apprehended.

Amber’s body was found four days later in a drainage ditch approximately four miles from where the kidnapping took place. Her throat had been cut and the results of the autopsy showed the little girl had died two days after she was abducted.

The Amber Alert System

The Amber Alert System that stemmed from the death of this child is an early warning system designed to notify as many people as possible through broadcasting announcements. Originally named for Amber Hagerman, a backronym was created for the word AMBER giving it the official name America's Missing: Broadcasting Emergency Response.

Nine months after Amber’s abduction and death, her parents, along with Marc Klaas, the father of a child kidnapped and murdered in 1993, and other supporters of stronger child protection laws succeeded in having the Amber Hagerman Child Protection Act passed into law by President Clinton.

In addition, a joint effort was made by the police department of Dallas and the local radio stations to establish a system of quickly notifying the public when a child was missing using the Emergency Alert System equipment. This began the Amber Alert System and during the two years that followed radio stations were notified by the police department of missing children by phone.

Amber Alert History: Significant Dates

Throughout the years following the launch of the Amber Alert in Texas, there have been many changes and legislative actions leading to the growth and development of this important early warning system.

The first alert notification system that was fully automated system was created by the Child Alert Foundation in 1998.
A campaign to have nationwide Amber Alert systems was launched by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2001.
President George W. Bush, in 2002, directed to assist each state in developing and instituting an Amber Alert plan.
The same year the Best Practices Guide for Broadcasters and Other Media Outlets was developed to assist all localities in setting up an Amber Alert notification plan.
By the end of 2002, Amber Alert systems were in place in 26 states with digital alerts beginning in November of that year through America Online.

The International Amber Alert System

Alberta, Canada, joined the United States in using an Amber Alert system in December 2002. By 2004 the systems were throughout Canada, with the exception of Saskatchewan.
In 2005 Queensland, Australia began their version of the Amber Alert system.
An abduction alert was instituted in France in 2006 called the Alerte Enlevement
Malaysia instituted their alert system for missing children called the Nurin Alert, named after an eight year old child who was abducted.
In 2008, alert systems were set in place in the Netherlands.
An Amber Alert system was launched in Ireland in 2009.