Florida’s Amber Alert system: What to know about state’s plan when a child goes missing
An Amber Alert was issued in Florida on Wednesday morning for 8-month-old girl in Broward County.
According to the alert, Amelia Martinez was last seen near SW 148 Avenue in Davie. It also notes that the child may be in the company of 34-year-old Davie resident, Arys Martinez.
The two are traveling in an unknown vehicle. Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
Here's what we know about the state's Amber Alert system:
What is an Amber Alert?
An Amber Alert, or a child abduction emergency alert, is a message distributed by a child abduction alert system to ask the public for help in finding abducted children. AMBER is a backronym standing for "America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response."
Why is it called an Amber Alert?
That effort came in response to the case of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who had been abducted and killed in Arlington, Texas in 1996.
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The first Amber Alert program following her murder, with Dallas-Ft. Worth radio and television stations banding together to use the federal Emergency Alert System to quickly broadcast news of child abductions, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Soon after, AMBER, for “America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response,” became part of federal and state laws.
What is the Florida AMBER Plan?
According to the state's website, the Florida Amber Plan is an Alert that is "issued through radio, television, highway Dynamic Message Signs, lottery machines, missingchildrenalert.com, and other resources that have been made available when a child abduction occurs."
The plan is meant to alert the public in a much broader scope than just the immediate area of the abduction.
How does Florida's Amber Alert process work?
Per the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the investigating local law enforcement agency will contact the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse.
The abducted child's information is taken over the phone. It is decided by the local law enforcement agency and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement what information is to be broadcasted and the areas in which to broadcast.
How is an Amber Alert activated in Florida?
There are five criteria that have to be met before an Amber alert can be issued in Florida:
The child is under the age of 18
Law enforcement has a well-founded belief, based on an active investigation, that a kidnapping has occurred
Law enforcement has a well-founded belief, based on an active investigation, that the child is in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury
There is a detailed description of the child and or the abductor/vehicle to broadcast to the public
The law enforcement agency of jurisdiction recommends the activation
What area does the alert cover?
The alert is activated to cover the areas that law enforcement agencies request. If an alert is sent on a regional basis, it will cover several counties that constitute that particular region. The alert can also be issued statewide, according to officials.
How do I sign up for Amber Alerts?
If an alert is active in your area, it should automatically appear on your phone. You can also sign up for social media accounts that will notify you when an Amber Alert is issued:
On Facebook: Visit www.facebook.com/AMBERAlert and “Like” the page to receive Amber Alerts in your newsfeed. Facebook also automatically notifies users near the location of an Amber Alert.
On Instagram: If an Amber Alert is activated by law enforcement and you are in the designated search area, the alert will appear in your Instagram feed.
On Twitter: Follow @AMBERAlert to receive rapid Amber Alert notifications on your Twitter feed and share the alert with your followers
What should I do if I spot a missing child from an alert?
According to SafeTee, experts said that if you have found a lost child, take action and don't hesitate to help. Once you walk up, introduce yourself and get on their level so they feel safe.
Once the child is comfortable and you might have asked a few questions on if they're OK, they suggest calling authorities and alerting them that you found the child. It's important not to move the child too far from where they were originally found.
Why did I get an alert on my phone?
Authorities are asking for the public's help in locating Ariana Jasmine Maradiaga, 15 months, and Cristhian Ariel Ruiz Maradiaga, 2 months.
The children were last seen with Marjorie Maradiaga, 19, and may be in the company of Santos Icaac Escobar, 21, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.
According to a sheriff's statement, Escobar was involved in a physical altercation shortly before noon with the owner of a home in the Seminole Cascade Mobile Home Park northeast of Santaluces High School.
Contributing: Julius Whigham III, Palm Beach Post
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida Amber Alert sent out for two girls. What to know about alerts