Issue 59

Our third issue of 2024 spotlights “Families Reunited”: Parents and siblings of missing children who came together for this year’s National Missing Children’s Day to discuss how to help other families experiencing the distress and determination felt when a child is missing. We delve into Hawaii’s three-for-three AMBER Alert success rate, and introduce you to a Texas AMBER Alert Coordinator intent on helping first responders recognize and address the impacts of trauma. We tell you about the California Highway Patrol’s challenge coins—awarded to those who go above and beyond in searching for missing children. And we feature the latest news from the U.S. and Indian Country.

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Features

Photo of two women with this caption: Patty Wetterling (right) greets NCMEC’s Director of Special Projects Sherry Bailey during the family survivors’ visit to NCMEC headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Family Togetherness in D.C.

Parents and siblings of missing children reunite—and renew their commitment to advocacy—at this year’s National Missing Children’s Day in Washington, [..]

Three photos representing successful recovery of children who were subjects of a MAILE AMBER Alert, plus a photo of searchers walking on a beach in Hawaii.

Hawaii Three-O

In Hawaii, three successful recoveries [..]

Photo of Texas Region 12 AMBER Alert Coordinator Michael Nixon of Beaumont, Texas

Beacon of Strength

Investigating crimes against children also [..]

Spotlight: Tokens of Excellence

California Highway Patrol AMBER Alert challenge coins honor officers, agencies, and others who go above and beyond in child abduction cases.

Michigan sting operation enlists LPRs to track down and arrest 7 child predators

Working with the Department of Homeland Security, Wayne County, Michigan, law enforcement officers posed as kids on a website where seven men—including a Wyandotte school teacher—thought they were setting up underage sexual encounters. But as each would-be predator made his way to meet the child, Taylor, Michigan, police used Flock Safety cameras/license plate readers (LPRs) [..]

NCMEC’s ‘No Escape Room’ confronts the fear and fraud of sextortion

In 2023, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline received a staggering 36.2 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation. To counter that, a chilling new interactive video, “No Escape Room,” uses dozens of real-life tipline scenarios to immerse parents and caregivers into a child’s online world, often fraught with peril. Throughout [..]

Slate of new Wisconsin efforts aims to protect children and women

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed dozens of bills in March that would invest $10 million in support of crime and human trafficking victims. A new formal partnership between Wisconsin Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (WAHTTF) and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR) addresses the prevalence of human trafficking in Wisconsin’s Indigenous communities. In [..]

Indian Country Briefs

FCC advances new IPAWS alert code for missing and endangered Indigenous people

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted a proposal for an emergency alert that could help save the lives of missing and endangered Indigenous people. The new alert code would make it easier for public safety officials to use TV, radio, and cell phones to notify the public about missing Native Americans and Alaska Natives. [..]

Indigenous women are becoming advocates and helping address MMIW plight

Is there hope for the hundreds of missing and murdered Indigenous women? An article by Rachel Monroe in The New Yorker begs this question, and the answer may lie in the strength of other Indigenous women. Lela Mailman became an advocate for the voiceless after her 21-year-old daughter, Melanie James, vanished in 2014 in Farmington, [..]

Murdered & missing women is a top concern for Native Americans heading into elections

Native American voters could decide major elections in 2024, and grassroots efforts are underway across swing states to get this important electorate out to vote as Democrats and Republicans vie for power. Key issues for Native Americans, particularly Native American women, include the high rate of missing and murdered Indigenous women, according to a 2023 [..]

AMBER Advocate Magazine

Issue 59

Features

Family Togetherness in D.C.

Hawaii Three-O

Beacon of Strength

Spotlight: Tokens of Excellence

U.S. Briefs

Michigan sting operation enlists LPRs to track down and arrest 7 child predators

NCMEC’s ‘No Escape Room’ confronts the fear and fraud of sextortion

Slate of new Wisconsin efforts aims to protect children and women

Indian Country Briefs

FCC advances new IPAWS alert code for missing and endangered Indigenous people

Indigenous women are becoming advocates and helping address MMIW plight

Murdered & missing women is a top concern for Native Americans heading into elections

Indian Country Web Article

FCC advances new IPAWS alert code for missing and endangered Indigenous people