1996
January 13 – Amber Hagerman abducted and murdered
January 27 – Local radio listener from Arlington, Texas, Diane Simone,
wrote a letter to KDMX 102.9 FM suggesting that the Emergency Alert
System be used during child abduction cases to get the word out to the
community so they can assist in the search.
1997
The Dallas/Fort Worth Association of Radio Managers teamed up with local
law-enforcement agencies in northern Texas to develop the AMBER Plan –
an innovative early warning system to help find abducted children.
July 5 – first activation of the AMBER Alert. The child was later found
drowned in a creek.
1998
November 10 – first AMBER Alert success story involving Raye Lee
Bradbury. This case gained national exposure and prompted local law
enforcement agencies from around the country to call Arlington Police
Department for advice on setting up their own AMBER Plans.
1999
September 14 – First statewide AMBER Plan implemented in
Oklahoma.
2000
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) decided to
promote and implement the AMBER program across the country.
August 3, 2000 – NCMEC hosted an AMBER Alert
forum at its headquarters in Alexandria, VA to gather ideas on how the
program should be executed nationwide. Representatives from various
communities already using the AMBER Alert system attended the forum to
give advice.
August 30 – Florida implemented a statewide AMBER Plan.
October 24, 2000- the House of Representatives passed House Resolution
605, urging all communities to implement the AMBER Plan to expedite the
recovery of abducted children.
2001
February 23, 2001 - NCMEC started advocating that the Federal
Communications Commission add an “Abducted Child” event code to the
Emergency Alert System to make it easier for communities to activate the
AMBER Plan. Ernie Allen spoke before the FCC’s National Advisory
Committee Meeting.
March 8 – Arkansas implemented the Morgan Nick Alert, now known as the
Morgan Nick AMBER Alert.
June 19 – Michigan implemented a statewide AMBER Plan.
October 24 – On the five-year anniversary of Amber Hagerman’s abduction
and murder, NCMEC launched its AMBER Plan campaign to promote the
program across the country. A training kit, including a manual and video
for both law enforcement and broadcasters was developed and provided
upon request free of charge. NCMEC designated AMBER to stand for
America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. At this time, there
were 27 programs across the U.S. –four are statewide including Oklahoma,
Florida, Arkansas and Michigan. Sixteen children have been saved by the
program – 9 children from Dallas, 3 children from Houston and 2 children
from Florida.
2002
January-July – 9 states implemented a statewide AMBER Plan.
March 18 – The Federal Communications Commission ruled to adopt a new
Child Abduction Emergency Code (CAE) to be used within the Emergency
Alert System (EAS).
August 1 – Tamara Brooks and Jacqueline Marriss were abducted in
Lancaster, CA at gunpoint. They were successfully recovered because an
animal control agent saw the AMBER Alert and reported a vehicle sighting
to law enforcement. This case, along with many other successful
recoveries during the month of August, captured the attention of law
enforcement, broadcasters, citizens and government officials across the
country, and put the AMBER Alert program on the map.
August-December – 19 more states implemented AMBER Plans before the end
of the year.
October 2 – At the first White House Conference on Missing, Exploited,
and Runaway Children, President George W. Bush instructed Attorney
General John Ashcroft to appoint a National AMBER Alert Coordinator
within the Department of Justice. This position was appointed to the
Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Justice Programs. The
president also urged Congress to pass legislation making these
provisions law.
November 13—A local AMBER Alert program, called Child Rescue Alert, was
launched in Sussex, England with the help and support of NCMEC. Three
more local Child Rescue Alert programs have been developed in England
since.
December 2 – Albert was the first province in Canada to launch an AMBER
Alert program. They had come to visit NCMEC to learn how AMBER Plans in
the U.S. work. All Canadian provinces now have AMBER Alert programs.
2003
January-December – 15 states implement a statewide AMBER
Plan.
April 30 – President Bush signs the Protect Act into law. This
comprehensive child protection legislation created a national AMBER
Alert system, which the U.S. Department of Justice would oversee.
August 3-5 – The first National Training Conference of AMBER Alert is
held in Dallas, Texas, which AMBER Alert coordinators, broadcasters, and
other AMBER Alert stakeholders from around the country attended.
2004
January-February – two more states develop statewide AMBER
Plans.
NCMEC determined that 252 AMBER Alerts were issued throughout the United
States in 2004.
2005
March 1 – NCMEC, at the direction of DOJ, creates the AMBER Alert
Secondary Distribution system, through which AMBER Alert messages can be
sent to national corporate partners, who in turn geographically
disseminate the Alert message to customers or employees.
May 11 – NCMEC and the wireless industry team up to create Wireless
AMBER Alerts, an initiative through which cell phone customers can
request to receive AMBER Alerts activated in their areas via a text
message to their mobile device.
2006
January 13 – The U.S. Department of Justice held an AMBER Alert
Awareness Day ceremony on the 10-year commemoration of Amber Hagerman’s
abduction and murder. NCMEC was presented with an award for the creation
of the AMBER Alert Secondary Distribution system. The U. S. Postal
Service also unveiled the new AMBER Alert stamp.
July 13 – To date, NCMEC has determined that 278 kids have been
recovered. There are a total of 116 AMBER Alert plans across the U.S.
including 52 statewide, 27 regional and 37 local.
