Throughout the day, you may get many notifications on your phone. On the rare occasion you could get an AMBER alert on your phone. Julie Doroteo said to me in an interview, ”It was lunch and it was seventh grade. Everyone got an AMBER Alert.” Any one can get an AMBER Alert. But, what are they?”
What are A.M.B.E.R. Alerts?
A.M.B.E.R. alerts stands for American’s Missing Broadcast Emergency Response. A.M.B.E.R. Alerts are for public child abductions and elderly adults missing and they alert the public about children and elderly who have been kidnapped or gone missing (Merriam-Webster).
They only alert people about recent abductions that have happened at least a day ago or a few hours ago. A.M.B.E.R. alerts received their the name from a case that happened 29 years ago. This case is called “Amber Hagerman case.”
Who is Amber Hagerman?
Amber Hagerman was a young girl born in Arlington, Texas November 25, 1986. In her family was her mom, dad, and younger brother. On January 13, 1996 she was abducted. She was later found murdered on January 17, 1996.
What happened to Amber Hagerman?
A few hours before her abduction, Amber was riding her bike with her five-year old brother Ricky. Amber went a block further than she was supposed to. When her brother Ricky realized Amber was going further then told, he didn’t think much of it so he returned home.
Later her mother realized that Amber hadn’t returned with Ricky. They asked Ricky where she had gone but Ricky did not know where his sister was. Her mother began to worry so they called Amber’s name, but there was no response. A few hours later they began a neighborhood search.
After looking for Amber for a couple of hours, a neighbor stated that they had seen Amber get abducted by a black pickup truck in a grocery store parking lot (KTBC). Even after contacting the police and alerting the news, she wasn’t found alive.
To stop this from happening again, her parents and the police teamed up to make the A.M.B.E.R Alerts we know today. Her abduction case helps children who get abducted not only in Texas, but all over the world and saves these children’s lives.
