What is an Amber Alert? What did the 'execute action' message mean? Everything to know

Authorities issued an Amber Alert on Wednesday morning for 5-year-old Darnell Taylor from Columbus. He was taken from his home by his foster mother, Pammy Maye, according to the Ohio Amber Alert website.

So what is an Amber Alert? How did it start? And what was with the odd "execute action" message some people received Wednesday?

Here's what to know.

What is an Amber Alert?

An Amber Alert is a notification system to help find abducted children, first developed in Texas in 1996.

How did the Amber Alert begin?

The Amber Alert system began when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children. "Amber" is an acronym for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.

The system was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then brutally murdered. Other states and communities set up their own Amber Alert plans as the idea was adopted across the nation.

The Amber Alert plan was launched in Ohio on Jan. 1, 2003.

What are the guidelines for issuing an Amber Alert?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the criteria to issue an Amber Alert include:

• There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred.

• The law enforcement agency believes the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.

• There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction for law enforcement to issue an Amber Alert to assist in the recovery of the child.

• The abduction is of a child aged 17 years or younger.

• The child’s name and other critical data elements, including the Child Abduction flag, have been entered into the National Crime Information Center system.

What does execute action mean?

An initial Amber Alert, sent at around 5:10 a.m. Wednesday, included the phrase "execute action," leading some to wonder what action to take.

According to Bret Crow, communications director for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, there were issues with the public Amber Alert in the Central Ohio region. That alert didn't contain complete information. The department is in the process of looking into why the system did not fully operate as intended and included the "execute action" phrase for cell phones in Columbus.

Full details in the initial alert went out to safety services, law enforcement and media outlets as per usual, Crow said. And a second alert in the Cleveland area was successfully pushed out to cell phones.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: What is an Amber Alert? What does execute action mean?