Video: Facebook Partners with Amber Alert System to Find Missing Children

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s been nearly 20 years ago since nine year old Amber Hagerman was abducted and killed in Arlington, Texas. The case made national headlines and ultimately lead to the creation of the Amber Alert system. Hagerman’s case is still unsolved but the lasting affects of that tragedy not only lead to the Amber alert system we use today, but also the creation of the National Sex Offender Registry. Now Facebook, is helping to expand those efforts by giving law enforcement another tool in the fight against child abduction.

On January 13, 1996, Amber Hagerman was abducted while riding her bike with her younger brother . Four days later, 9-year old Hagerman was found molested and murdered in a nearby creek. Her case eventually lead to the creation of the Amber alert system, notifying law enforcement agencies around the country of child abductions. The system has proven helpful in local cases. Just last year in April, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department requested an amber alert for 2-year old Maliah Harris from Caledonia. She was later located in Georgia.

“Two officers who had heard the amber alert earlier during a patrol briefing saw the vehicle, were able to make a stop on the vehicle and were able to locate the child,” says Capt Ryan Rickert, Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department.

Since the Protect Act was passed by Congress in 2003, the Amber Alert System has helped to find 728 children. With millions of users on Facebook, authorities hope Facebook Amber alerts will increase the number of children they rescue.

“The way Facebook is being used and any kind of media that we can get out to help get descriptions and vehicle descriptions to help us assist to locate people, would be a great asset to us and the department and the state as well,” says Rickert.

Local law enforcement agencies have been using Facebook to fight crime for years. Now Amber alerts on Facebook will create a larger platform for sharing information.

“County Sheriff’s Dept We have a Facebook ourselves and we use that Facebook to get information out about wanted people and different things that are happening in the community. With millions and millions of people that are on Facebook, this will be a great help in getting people found that are apart of the amber alert,” says Lowndes County Sheriff, Mike Arledge.

Users will not have to sign up for the service. Facebook will deliver the alerts automatically if a missing child is suspected to be in a user’s area.

Each year, law enforcement agencies generally issue about 180 amber alerts nationwide. Facebook users in the US will likely see about 1 to 2 amber alerts annually.