Issue 64

Welcome to the Fall 2025 issue of The AMBER Advocate! Inside its pages you’ll see how we’ve made it easier for agencies to create child abduction response teams (CARTs) by simply going back to the basics—in this case, 12 core components. Also meet your neighbor to the north, Josée Melanson—an AMBER Alert Coordinator from Canada who focuses on cross-border collaboration (work that’s integral to AATTAP’s Northern Border Initiative). Feel good about the public’s role in responding to AMBER Alerts: In “A Heartfelt Rescue,” learn how the public’s embrace of a life-or-death situation led to an abducted infant being recovered safely just in time for heart surgery the next day. And finally, get up to speed on the latest news from around the nation, Indian Country, and the world.

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Features

Photo of a man in front of a digital organization chart

CART Smart Restart

Child abduction response team training goes back to the basics for a winning formula.

Photo illustration of a blue blanket with a pink heart pillow

A Heartfelt Rescue

When an AMBER Alert was [..]

Neighbor to the North

A veteran of the Royal [..]

U.S. Briefs

Pennsylvania police launch rapid DNA testing

The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) became one of the most recent law enforcement agencies to deploy rapid DNA analysis as a cutting-edge investigative tool. Fifteen automated genetic analyzers were deployed across the state as part of a testing program. The machines can generate a DNA profile in less than two hours, helping to quickly connect—or [..]

Houston forensic artist recounts storied career

Age-progressed photos have long been used to help spark new leads in unsolved missing child cases. Forensic artist Lois Gibson spent four decades working with the Houston Police Department, where she sketched age-progressed portraits of children, as well as the likenesses of kidnappers and other suspected criminals. The face behind the faces shared her story—and [..]

Florida operation recovers 60 missing children

The safe recovery of 60 “critically missing” youth at risk of violence and sexual exploitation and the arrest of eight individuals is being touted as the most successful such mission in U.S. Marshals Service history—and perhaps in U.S. history. William Berger, U.S. Marshal for the Middle District of Florida, made that statement in praising the [..]

Indian Country Briefs

Videos showcase AMBER Alert in Indian Country

Three new online videos highlighting the AMBER Alert in Indian Country (AIIC) initiative can be a powerful resource for Tribal communities and law enforcement. The short videos—which are available to watch on the AIIC website—highlight the importance of enhanced training and collaboration to help save children’s lives. Tribes can use the videos to gain a [..]

California Tribes receive grants for MMIP projects

Native American Tribes in California are slated to begin a range of projects in conjunction with the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Grant Program. California awarded nearly $13 million in grants to support 15 projects led by Tribes or Tribal collaborations to address the MMIP crisis. The projects are designed to develop culturally [..]

New Mexico group hears about human trafficking

The New Mexico Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Task Force heard emotional testimonies as part of its ongoing efforts to address the MMIP crisis. Family members and others attending the group’s quarterly meeting recounted how Indigenous people have been impacted by human trafficking and the disproportionately high number of missing girls and women. Birga [..]

International Briefs

Police operation in northern India reunites 61 missing children with their families

Sixty-one missing children were safely located and reunited with their families in northern India as part of “Operation Milap.” The initiative by Delhi’s South-West District Police recovered 142 missing persons during an intensive month-long search mission. Law enforcement efforts included local inquiries, surveillance, and outreach at public transportation hubs, and examining records of nearby police [..]

Intensive investigation continues across Canada in search for two missing Nova Scotia siblings

Canadian investigators are poring through more than 700 tips and assessing forensic results on items recovered during searches for Lilly and Jack Sullivan, ages 6 and 4. The siblings were reported missing from their rural Nova Scotia home in May, prompting weeks of searches in a heavily wooded area. Allison Gerrard, senior communications advisor with [..]

Rise in ‘sextortion’ reports involving children prompts U.K. action, international alarm

A growing threat in online grooming and “sextortion” prompted the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to take action. After tech companies reported more than 9,600 cases of adults grooming children online in just six months—the equivalent of about 400 a week—the NCA launched what it called “unprecedented” public awareness campaigns. The campaigns alert U.K. [..]

AMBER Advocate Magazine