Texas leads nation with most AMBER Alerts, data show. 13 alerts issued so far in 2024.
Less than two months into 2024, Texas has already issued 13 AMBER Alerts this year. How does our state compare with others on such alerts? Here's the breakdown:
What state sees the most AMBER Alerts?
Texas gets the most AMBER Alerts, according to the 2022 AMBER Alert Report by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2022, a staggering 17% of all AMBER Alerts issued in the U.S. were from Texas.
After Texas, Georgia and Florida have initiated the most AMBER Alerts. They contributed 7% and 8% of the alerts, respectively.
Of the 14 children who have prompted Texas alerts in 2024, 13 have been found, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Although the state alert issued for 1-year-old Noah Johnson has been discontinued, the Houston regional AMBER Alert remains active.
The case of Audrii Cunningham recently made national news after the 11-year-old Livingston girl was found dead, her body discovered in an East Texas river.
What are the criteria for AMBER Alerts?
The Justice Department uses the following guidelines for initiating an alert:
There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred.
The law enforcement agency believes that 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.
Most missing children don't trigger an AMBER Alert. Most missing children in the U.S. are found, and most child abductions are committed by family members. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reports only 1% of missing child cases involve nonfamily abductions.
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As with AMBER Alerts, Texas also reports the highest number of missing children in the U.S. In 2022, there were 3,144 children reported missing to the center.
At the 2023 Commemoration for National Missing Children's Day, Office of Justice Programs Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon spoke on the reality of the country's missing children.
"On this day, we remember that some 460,000 children go missing from the United States every year – and we take this opportunity to remind ourselves of both the scope of the challenge before us and the depth of our collective commitment to the safety and welfare of America's youth," Solomon said.
What is the success rate of AMBER Alerts?
From its implementation in 1996 to the last day of 2023, the official site for AMBER Alerts reports 1,186 children have been successfully recovered and 165 children were rescued because of wireless emergency alerts.
There are 82 AMBER Alert plans throughout the U.S., consisting of state, regional and local jurisdictions.
However, it’s unclear how much AMBER Alerts actually help bring children home safely, a USA TODAY analysis of the alerts found.
An AMBER Alert was credited with helping in just a quarter of alert cases across the country over six months in 2022. The alerts worked best for white and Hispanic kids, helping in about 1 in 3 cases, compared with 1 in 7 involving Black children.
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In some cities and towns, police department policy can result in missing children as young as 10 and older, like Audrii, receiving less attention from law enforcement, USA TODAY found. Children who are classified as runaways, which advocates say happens more often to children of color, also receive less attention from law enforcement.
Stories about missing children of color might also be less likely to get attention from reporters, advocates say, and members of the public on social media. Gaétane Borders, president of Peas in Their Pods, a nonprofit that advocates for missing children of color and their families, said when a case does receive national attention, it can be an opportunity for people to learn more about issues surrounding missing children.
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"But the trend is after a while the conversation stops until the next case that pulls at heartstrings comes up again, which it will, and then the conversations will resume," she said. "It's about sustained conversation. It's about preventative conversations."
How did AMBER Alerts originate?
The AMBER Alert initiative began with the case of a 9-year-old girl in Arlington. On Jan. 13, 1996, Amber Hagerman was riding her bike in a parking lot when she was taken by a man driving a black truck. Amber's body was found four days later, only a few miles from her grandparents' home. Her slaying was never solved.
Amber's case horrified local residents, who felt the North Texas community should have been more informed on the case and allowed to assist law enforcement with the search. One such outraged resident was Diane Simone.
Simone decided to take action. Calling into a local radio station, she suggested an expansion of the Emergency Alert System that would focus on missing children. Simone asked that the new program be dedicated to the memory of Amber Hagerman.
"As the initiative grew, it became known as America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) Plan," the 2022 AMBER Alert Report explains. It "provides a framework for law enforcement to rapidly broadcast information about child abductions to the public so the community can assist in the search for and safe recovery of the child."
How to get AMBER Alerts on your phone
AMBER Alerts can be sent through mobile devices via Wireless Emergency Alerts, which allow government alerting authorities to send emergency messages using mobile carriers.
You can also subscribe to receive local AMBER Alerts on social media. On Facebook, you can "like" the AMBER Alert page. On X, formerly known as Twitter, follow @AMBERAlert.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas has more AMBER Alerts than any other state, data show
