Why was the AMBER Alert program created?
The AMBER Alert Program was created in 1996 as a powerful legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman who was kidnapped and brutally murdered while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas. The tragedy shocked and outraged the entire community. Residents contacted radio stations in the Dallas area and suggested they broadcast special “alerts” over the airwaves so they could help prevent such incidents in the future. The next year local law enforcement and broadcasters created the AMBER Alert program in Amber Hagerman’s honor. The AMBER Alert program, also known as America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response Plan, is a program in which broadcasters and transportation authorities immediately distribute information about recent child abductions to the public, enabling the entire community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of the child. What began as a local effort in Dallas, Texas, has grown into a seamless system of AMBER Alert programs across the country, each year saving the live
