2008-07-01 23:55:11 -

- An AMBER Alert was recently issued in Texas urging citizens to be on the lookout for an abducted boy and his abductor. During these times, when a child's safety is in question, many people wonder if there is anything they can do individually to help.

Your audience might be interested in knowing that in addition to paying close

attention to AMBER Alerts when they are distributed via broadcast outlets or on highway signs, they can also sign up to receive AMBER Alerts as free text messages on their wireless devices. Their participation will add critical eyes and ears to the search for abducted children.

Any wireless subscriber may opt in to receive free Alerts by completing a simple registration process at www.wirelessamberalerts.org or their wireless carrier's website. Most wireless customers can text the word AMBER followed by a space and their 5-digit ZIP Code to 26237.

AMBER stands for "America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response" and was created in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system to find abducted children. The AMBER Alert Program was soon adopted across the nation and is a legacy to Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then murdered. All 50 states have since established AMBER Alert programs.

President Bush authorized the national AMBER Alert program as part of the PROTECT Act signed in 2003. The law formally established the federal government's role in the AMBER Alert program, appointing the Department of Justice (DOJ) as the agency responsible for coordinating AMBER Alerts on the national level. The wireless industry has officially partnered with the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to make free Wireless AMBER Alerts available to cell phone subscribers.

More than 390 children have been successfully recovered as a result of the AMBER Alert network.

The Wireless Foundation is a non-profit organization that was formed by member companies of CTIA-The Wireless Association(R) in 1991. The Foundation oversees a number of programs designed to put wireless technology to work addressing the challenges of society.

www.wirelessfoundation.org

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since it was established by Congress in 1984, the organization has operated the toll-free 24-hour national missing children's hotline which has handled more than 2.2 million calls. It has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 126,000 children. The organization's CyberTipline has handled more than 588,000 reports of child sexual exploitation and its Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and analyzed more than 13,902,500 child pornography images and videos. The organization works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. To learn more about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.

www.missingkids.com

The U.S. Department of Justice's mission is to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

www.usdoj.gov

The Wireless Foundation
Jennifer Comer, 202.736.3675
or
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Communications Department, 703.837.6111