The real girl behind the Amber Alert system

Nearly everyone in America knows what an Amber Alert, also known as a Child Abduction Emergency, is. They stop our hearts— and remind us we must all be vigilant—each time we see or hear one on our cellphones, TVs, radios, digital road signs or social media.

But too few Americans know that the Amber Alert system was named for Amber Hagerman, a 9-yearold Arlington, Texas, girl abducted on Jan. 13, 1996, while riding bikes with her 5-year-old brother.

The sole witness to Amber’s abduction, 78-yearold retiree Jim Kevil, promptly reported it to police, saying he saw her being forced, screaming, into a black pickup by an adult male.

Neighbors, friends and more than 50 police officers and federal agents spent the next four days searching for Amber. On the fifth day, near midnight, her lifeless body was found in a creek 4 miles from the parking lot where she had been abducted. Her throat had been cut. Her family and the entire DallasFort Worth community were heartbroken.

Amber’s murder remains unsolved. But the grief that overwhelmed our community 22 years ago was channeled in a positive direction. After the slaying, a Dallas mother named Diana Simone suggested to a local radio station that a program be put in place using the Emergency Alert System to notify the public when a child is abducted. If Americans across the country could get early warnings for tornadoes and floods, why not for child kidnappings?

Today, the Amber Alert system is used in all 50 states, U.S. territories and 22 other countries. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, as of March, 924 children had been successfully recovered through Amber Alerts.

If only we had more stories like this. What began as a local tragedy was transformed into a worldwide effort, using the most advanced technologies available, to better protect our most precious assets: our children. It’s perhaps not surprising that this global movement took root in Dallas, where for 30 years, the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center has held its annual Crimes Against Children Conference.

While we give thanks for all those saved in her name, we also hold out hope for a breakthrough in the investigation of Amber Hagerman’s brutal and senseless murder. As we reported two years ago, on the 20th anniversary of her abduction, while the Amber Alert system “may ensure her name won’t be forgotten, like so many other missing or murdered children, her case continues to weigh heavily on detectives and her family.”

Her mother, Donna Williams, said it best at a January 2016 news conference:

“Amber desperately needs justice.”

The Dallas Morning News