Megan Smetter woke up on the morning of Saturday, February 20, 2016, to discover her two-month-old son Jaxon, her friend Earnest Howard, 35, and her car were missing. She reported the incident to the Fairbury, Nebraska, Police Department for help at 7:15 a.m. An officer was immediately dispatched in an attempt to locate the missing vehicle and make contact with the suspect.
The initial responding officer contacted Fairbury Police Chief Chad Sprunk at 11:15 a.m. that morning and requested additional assistance; he also requested consideration of issuing an AMBER Alert. Chief Sprunk personally called the missing child’s mother to verify that the case met the criteria for an AMBER Alert.
“I was convinced it met the criteria because of the suspect’s prior drug use, violent criminal history, a previous attempted abduction of a child,” said Sprunk. “He was also not the biological father of the child, didn’t notify the mother he was taking [him] and refused to bring the child back.”
The Fairbury Police Department notified the media and law enforcement in the area about the possible abduction. The AMBER Alert was issued at 2:26 p.m.
Nebraska State Patrol Lieutenant Jeromy McCoy is the state’s AMBER Alert Coordinator. He was without his laptop when he received the call for the alert. He called another officer for help and the alert was quickly sent to the state’s electronic highway signs and broadcast via the Wireless Emergency Alert System. However, obtaining pictures of the suspect and victim required approximately 20 additional minutes before the AMBER Alert was posted to the Department’s website.
“These images were in a different format that caused our webpage to crash when we attempted to submit the AMBER Alert,” said Lieutenant McCoy. “We determined the problem and changed the format to a JPEG.”
The Fairbury Police Department has six full-time officers. The small department’s phones quickly starting ringing with tips and possible sightings of the suspect’s vehicle, including tips from Ohio, California, Kansas, Missouri and Texas. Help also started pouring in from several county sheriff’s offices, the Nebraska State Patrol, the FBI and several civilian organizations offering assistance in working tips and the investigation.
“I required everyone to contact the agency where the tip was generated,” said Chief Sprunk. “Absolutely no tip was set aside and not handled.”
This was the 18th AMBER Alert issued by Nebraska since its program began in 2002. It was the 7th alert issued by Lieutenant McCoy since he became a verification officer in 2007. He became the state’s AMBER Alert coordinator three years ago. However, it was the first alert for the Fairbury Police Department, and it added strain to AMBER Alert veterans as well as everyone who was new to the alert system.
“Obviously, you think the worst has happened to the child; however you still have hope the child is safe,” said Chief Sprunk. “It was extremely emotional not knowing what the outcome was going to be.”
“The longer an AMBER Alert goes on, the more worried I get,” added Lieutenant McCoy.
A citizen called to report the suspect’s vehicle was stuck in the mud in Fairbury. Police located and arrested Howard and the baby was taken to a local hospital. The AMBER Alert was cancelled at 6:41 p.m., about 4 hours after it was initiated.
“If I could see that person, I don’t know how I would be able to thank them,” expressed Megan Smetter in speaking to KOLN-TV about the person who provided the tip leading to Howard’s location. “I think there was more anger and fear I would never see him again.”
Howard was taken to jail and booked on charges including kidnapping, felony child abuse and making terroristic threats. His case is still pending and all suspects are presumed innocent unless they are convicted. Police said Howard also had a glass pipe used in smoking methamphetamine in his possession and could be charged at a later time with that offense.
“I do feel the AMBER Alert saved the child’s life,” said Chief Sprunk. “If the alert did not go out, the citizen who located the suspect and child would not have known about the abduction.”
The Fairbury Police Department has trained for years on the AMBER Alert system, but lessons are always learned after each alert—especially the first one.
“Time is of the essence,” said Chief Sprunk. “If there is any doubt, send the AMBER Alert out to the coordinator immediately. It was so easy and flawless working with the Nebraska State Patrol on getting the alert out.”
Nebraska also has a strong AMBER Alert committee that reviews every alert issued.
“We review problems and make changes based on input from media, law enforcement and other AMBER Alert partners,” added Lieutenant McCoy. “We have good discussions and try to make the alert process better after each one.”
Both the AMBER Alert coordinator and the police chief said this alert is further proof the AMBER Alert system is a vital tool to save abducted children.
“Children are vulnerable and can’t control their environment or circumstances they are put in,” said Lieutenant McCoy. “I do whatever I can do to protect this segment of our society.”
“Safety of the children is what motivates me,” added Chief Sprunk. “Children are helpless and fragile and it puts them in a very scary and unsafe environment.”