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The Amber Alert system helps keep people informed about child abduction situations.

Photo courtesy City of Richmond

Amber Alert system helps inform public

By Samuel Cheng

Published 11:46 PST, Fri December 23, 2022

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Children, teens, and even adults can be vulnerable victims when it comes to kidnapping, abduction, or simply going missing for unknown reasons.

Five people were reported missing in Richmond in November, including a teenager. While information about missing people is usually shared by local police forces, the province-wide Amber Alert system provides information about child abduction situations that meet certain criteria.

The Amber Alert system uses highway message boards, radio and television announcements, and text messages to share information. The goal of an alert is to involve as many community members as possible to help search for the missing child.

The name “Amber” originates from a nine-year old girl named Amber Hagerman who went missing in January 1996 in Texas. She was out riding her bicycle with her brother in a grocery store parking lot before her disappearance.

Hagerman was last seen by a witness who testified that the driver of a black pickup truck had shoved Hagerman into his truck before fleeing the scene of the crime. Sadly, Hagerman’s body was found four days later in a nearby creek, about eight kilometres from the parking lot. As of 2022, the case remains unsolved.

Hagerman’s death triggered a series of events and eventually the establishment of the Amber Alert system. Currently, the system is in place in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and 20 European countries including Belgium, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The social media platform Instagram also made the Amber Alert feature available in other countries such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and New Zealand.

Each location may have slightly different requirements for an Amber Alert to be activated. In B.C., all of the following requirements must be met:

• The victim is under age 18

• Police believe the victim has been abducted

• Police believe the victim is in imminent danger

• Police have obtained enough descriptive information about the victim, abductor, and/or the vehicle involved

• Police believe the alert can be issued in a timely enough manner that the child can be returned or the abductor apprehended

If you receive an Amber Alert, here is what you can do to help:

• Watch for the child, suspect, and/or vehicle described

• Do not attempt to stop the vehicle or apprehend the child/offender yourself

• Immediately report any sightings to the police by calling 9-1-1 and providing the location and a description of the victim, suspect, and/or any vehicle involved

• Do not forward Amber Alerts via text message without first referring to local radio or television, or check bc.rcmp.ca to confirm the validity and current status of the Amber Alert in your area

Between January 2013 and February 2020, Canada issued a total of 56 amber alerts in which 76 children were involved in acts of abduction. Sixty-seven of the children were successfully rescued.

Most recently, an Amber Alert was broadcast to B.C. cellphone users via the Alert Ready system in September after a three-year-old boy was allegedly abducted by his mother from BC Children’s Hospital. He was later found in Alberta.