MACON, MO. -- In the wake of the Lisa Irwin case, the missing baby from Kansas City, many of you wanted to know more about amber alerts. That's Tuesday’s Facebook Story of The Day.
KTVO went to the Missouri state highway patrol's troop b headquarters in Macon and learned that the main focus of amber alerts is to locate an abducted child age 17 or younger quickly since time is of the essence.
The amber alert system is a collaboration of law enforcement, media outlets, and transportation officials, like Mo-DOT, to help spread the word about an abducted child.
The criteria for an amber alert to be issued is that law enforcement officials must have a reasonable doubt that a child was abducted and is in imminent danger from the suspect.
“Whether receiving serious physical injury or possibility of death, there has to be enough descriptive information not only on the child that's been abducted, but also the suspect that has the abducted the child for the amber alert to be issued.” Said Sgt. Brent Bernhardt of The Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Once an amber alert has been issued, an emergency alert system is activated to inform the public about the missing child as soon as possible.
There is no time limit to how long an amber alert is issued. But it will be cancelled once the child is found.
“When you have a missing child, it's something that no one wants to experience.” Bernhardt said. “It’s a horrible event for the family of the missing child and also for law enforcement who are trying to find the child. The sooner we find that child the safer the child is.”
An amber alert can also be cancelled if the information was not factional or a case of a missing child turns out to be false such as a hoax or an adult trying to cover up another crime.
For more previous stories on amber alerts, go to:http://www.heartlandconnection.com/news/story.aspx?id=653730
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKTVO