Web Exclusives – AMBER Advocate

Editor's Note: On September 6, 2018, 10-year-old Ashley Johnson-Barr of Kotzebue, a member of the Indigenous Arctic Iñupiat Tribe, was abducted while walking to a park to meet a friend. Her lifeless body was found eight days later in a remote area of tundra, and her killer ultimately would be sentenced to life in prison. Exclusively for The AMBER Advocate, Ashley's father, Walter "Scotty" Barr, has penned this letter to his daughter on what would have been her 18th birthday (March 12, 2026)—a day officially recognized in Alaska as Ashley Johnson-Barr Day.

Photo of a man with a young girl, both smiling. It shows Scotty Barr with his (late) daughter Ashley Johnson-Barr — *Walter "Scotty" Barr with his daughter, Ashley Johnson-Barr*

My beloved Ashley,

Here I am, wishing you happiness on what should have been your 18th birthday today—March 12, 2026.

My heart overflows with love as I remember the day you were born. It was the transition from winter into early spring—there was still snow on the ground, and the Arctic air was slowly warming. Tears of happiness filled the room, telling me another beautiful girl had been born, a true blessing from God. As I wander down memory lane, I cry, I smile, and I hold onto the love of knowing that God the Father, God the Mother, and the Holy Spirit gave me the best 10 wonderful years I could ever have asked for.

And today, Ashley Kelly Mae Robyn (Sanmigan) Johnson-Barr, those of us who truly loved you honor your beautiful life and send our loving memories and birthday wishes to you in heaven.

Ashley, you have such a loving spirit—kind, caring, responsible, and full of joy. I remember you as a 10-year-old child who cherished time with your best friend and sister, Aaliyah, and with other friends every day. I saw how you loved playing at school parks, attending weekly church services with family and friends, and being part of many church communities. We enjoyed ice fishing, playing basketball, picking berries—you simply loved being outdoors and living life to the fullest.

You were also an honor student and strong speller in school. All of your teachers and the school staff were impressed by your intelligence, as well as your desire to help in your classes and support your classmates in any way you could. (And I can’t believe this would be the year you would have walked with Kotzebue High School’s graduating Class of 2026.)

Looking back I’m in awe of how gifted you were—smart, hardworking, a quick learner, kind-hearted, and deeply loving. We think of you whenever we have your favorite foods—fish with seal oil, homemade donuts, homemade bread. And we love seeing your favorite color, purple, which was inspired by my sister, Auntie Mona.

It’s obvious that your friends loved being around you because of your warmth and light. You also had such a heart for spreading love in our community. You enjoyed helping with the community college gardens and participating in community events. You were special to everyone and everything you touched.

That is why your loss impacted so many lives—in our community, surrounding villages, cities across Alaska, the Lower 48, and around the world. Yet through that loss, we have been brought together by the love you had for God.

Today, I honor you by advocating for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and by serving as a resource for other families walking this painful path.

And one dream I had became a reality in February 2020. That’s when State Senator Dr. Donny Olson and the Alaska Legislature passed a resolution recognizing March 12—your birthday—as Ashley Johnson-Barr Day, honoring survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence and those impacted by such violence. The City of Kotzebue also renamed a park in your honor: Ashley Johnson-Barr Memorial Park.

I believe this is the greatest birthday gift we can give you. I take comfort and pride in knowing this, and I believe you would too.

Just know that your presence is deeply and greatly missed, yet your spirit continues to touch countless lives.

Happy birthday, my dearest Dimples. It may be 18 years since you were born, but to me, you will forever be 10 years old.

With sincere love,

Your Dad (and Mom and Siblings)

May the grace of the Lord be with all God’s people. Amen.

Photo of woman and girl. Image of Pamela Foster with Ashlynne Mike. — *The author, Pamela Foster, with her daughter, Ashlynne Mike (2004-2016)*

November 13, 2025: Today we celebrate our beautiful Ashlynne on what would have been her 21st birthday. So many milestones have come and gone, and though we’ve marked each one, they’ve never felt complete without her.

Ashlynne was an achiever—bright, determined, and full of promise. I often find myself wondering what incredible things she would have accomplished by now. My sweet girl continues to grow in spirit, even if she can’t be here to share in all that life has brought since she left us.

Her favorite food was spaghetti, so today our family gathers to share a meal, to play her favorite music, and to celebrate the joy she brought into every life she touched. I imagine her energy dancing around us, light and free, mingling with laughter, song, and memory. I feel her with me in every butterfly, dragonfly, and hummingbird that crosses my path. She gave so much of herself to this world, and though unseen, she has never truly left us.

Ashlynne is our angel, always watching over us—a loving soul who knew only how to love others. When she left us so suddenly, our hearts broke open. But from that heartbreak came purpose. I have carried her spirit with me as I’ve worked to bring about change, to protect others as she would have done. I believe she guided us, pulling the strings from above, helping to pass a law—the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act of 2018—to protect our Indigenous children. I am endlessly proud of her. Not a day passes that I don’t tell her, “I love you.”

Today, as we remember Ashlynne, we’ll laugh and cry and laugh again, letting the tears fall where they need to. Her light continues to shine through us all—in love, in hope, and in every beautiful memory she left behind.

✨Happy heavenly 21st birthday, my sweet Ashlynne. You are forever loved, forever missed, and forever ours. 💖🦋

Pamela Foster

Implementing AMBER Alert plans in Indian Country plans comes with unique challenges: jurisdictional rights, infrastructure and resources limitations, crime reporting complexities, the need for cultural understanding, and multiagency collaboration.

AATTAP’s AMBER Alert in Indian Country (AIIC) initiative is a bridge meant to overcome such issues—and this subject is at the core of our ongoing series, “Voices from AMBER Alert in Indian Country.”

Watch our three new videos that feature insights from law enforcement leaders from across the nation: https://amberadvocate.org/aiic/aiic-home/. (Also read all the video’s process and goals: https://amberadvocate.org/issues/aa63-amber-alert-in-indian-country-in-focus-2/)

The compelling endeavor, filmed in New Mexico by the Indigenous-led film company Bravebird, focuses on “opening eyes, finding resources and forming lasting partnerships to ensure every person matters,” says Janell Rasmussen, Director of the National Criminal Justice Training Center and Administrator of the AMBER Alert Training & Technical Assistance Program (AATTAP).
– Denise Gee Peacock

By Denise Gee Peacock

May 25 is National Missing Children's Day, but for the AMBER Alert Training & Technical Assistance Program (AATTAP) and National Criminal Justice Training Center (NCJTC), we think about missing children every single day.

Janell Rasmussen, Director of the National Criminal Justice Training Center and Administrator of the AMBER Alert Training & Technical Assistance Program — **Janell Rasmussen** NCJTC Director AATTAP Administrator

“We not only train child protection professionals to quickly and safely resolve missing child incidents, but also work with some amazing family members of missing children and siblings,” says Janell Rasmussen, National Criminal Justice Training Center Director/ AATTAP Administrator.

“Family members such as Colleen Nick, Kimber Biggs, Jeffery Morehouse, and Desiree Young, to name a few, have shared their perspectives during training sessions, symposiums, and multimedia projects meant to help law enforcement understand family members’ unique perspectives. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their compassion and candor. And we stand strong with them and all other family members of missing children as they diligently work to see their missing child or sibling return home.”

*⃝ Read about the National Missing Children’s Day commemoration in Washington, D.C, which included a panel discussion with sibling-survivors and NCJTC-AATTAP Associates Kimber Biggs (featured in the above video), Rysa Lee, and Sayeh Rivazfar, who worked alongside them and others to help produce the new second edition of the What About Me? multimedia sibling survival guide.

Learn more about these loved ones who are still missing:

𒀭 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗴𝗴𝘀: https://www.facebook.com/mikellebiggs

𒀭 𝗔𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘂 𝗜𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲: https://www.bachome.org/mochi-morehouse.html

𒀭 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗸: https://morgannickfoundation.com/about/

𒀭 𝗞𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻: https://www.facebook.com/missingkyronhorman/

By Denise Gee Peacock

May 5 is designated as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP)/Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). The day serves as a national call to action to end violence against Indigenous communities and to support families and communities impacted by the MMIP/MMIWG crisis.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Justice in support of the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian County Act, the AMBER Alert Training & Technical Assistance Program’s AMBER Alert in Indian Country (AIIC) initiative is committed to helping American Indian and Alaska Native Villages (AI/AN communities) combat the crisis by providing no-cost training, technology assistance, and numerous resources.

AMBER Alert in Indian Country Program Manager Tyesha Wood, and Project Coordinators Dave Chewiwie, Amy Hood-Schwindt, and Alica Murphy Wildcatt—are continually on the road meeting with federally recognized Tribes throughout the nation.

Their Indigenous heritage and law enforcement experience help them connect on multiple levels with AI/AN law enforcement and community leaders during AMBER Alert implementation meetings and child abduction tabletop exercises (CATEs). They also assist with specialized and/or customized training, partner outreach, and more.

“While our team proudly supports MMIP/MMIWG Awareness Day, our commitment extends beyond May 5,” says Program Manager Wood, a member of the Navajo Nation. “Every day we stand with the families of missing and murdered Indigenous people who are still seeking answers. We encourage everyone to listen and help people with cases that are unreported or under-investigated. Every voice matters—and every story deserves to be heard.”

*AIIC Project Coordinator Alica Murphy Wildcatt*

Behind every missing or murdered Indigenous relative “is a family waiting, a community grieving, and a life full of potential that deserves to be seen and protected,” says Wildcatt, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Much like her AIIC colleagues, “I see firsthand how our systems have the potential to fall short. Delayed responses, jurisdictional barriers, and a lack of urgency can put Native lives at risk. We can’t let our relatives become statistics. The MMIP/MMIWG movement matters because it is about justice, yes, but it’s also about love, dignity, and the right to be safe in our own homeland.”

*AIIC Project Coordinator Dave Chewiwie*

Children are precious in Native communities, but they also are vulnerable to “those who may be looking to abduct them, to exploit them,” says Project Coordinator Dave Chewiwie, a Pueblo of Isleta member. “We have to have effective programs and plans in place to safely recover them if they go missing. We are all stakeholders in the security of our children in Indian Country.”

Project Coordinator Hood-Schwindt, a Yavapai-Apache member, believes “an ongoing lack of thorough investigations into MMIP cases, combined with the impunity of perpetrators, has fueled a vicious cycle, one we need to break. We have to provide comprehensive investigations, meaningful prosecutions, and ensure there is justice for every stolen Indigenous life.”

*AIIC Project Coordinator Amy Hood-Schwindt*

While significant progress has been made in the last five years, much still needs to be done, Wood says. “We must work in unity, share resources and coordinate efforts, and carry hope that we will find, or find answers for, our missing and murdered Indigenous relatives.”

Wildcatt believes that “working together, we can confront this epidemic. We can invest in community-driven solutions, and build systems that ensure safety, accountability, and justice.”

The disproportionately high rate of violence experienced by Native American families is unacceptable. Through continued collaboration with American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes, we are dedicated to alleviating this crisis in a meaningful—and lasting—way.

JANELL RASMUSSEN Director, National Criminal Justice Training Center
Administrator, AMBER Alert Training & Technical Assistance Program/AMBER Alert in Indian Country initiative

AIIC Associate Jen Murphy helped produce an award-winning short film that turns a lens on the MMIP/MMIW crisis.

Jen Murphy is a photographer, artist, member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe in Montana, an AATTAP-AIIC Associate, and one of the more prominent faces of MMIP/MMIW awareness work. The above photograph of her with a red handprint over her mouth—symbolizing the silencing of voices—spans billboards across the Great Plains “to bring attention to issues that need to be talked about,” Murphy says.

Central among those issues is the disproportionate rate of violence, abduction, and murder experienced by women and people in the U.S. and Canada.

Another way Murphy aims to turn people’s attention to the MMIP/MMIW crisis is through a children's book she produced in 2024. Learn about and purchase More Like Her here.

Murphy also served as executive producer for the short film “Not Afraid,” previously featured on Omeleto.

At just under 10 minutes, the film provides an intimate and powerful portrait of a young Native American woman navigating the grief of losing a loved one to the MMIW crisis. It captures both personal heartbreak and the deep resilience within Indigenous communities, and aims to be a stirring call to remembrance, justice, and healing.

Starring JaShaun St. John (“Songs My Brothers Taught Me”), the film offers a powerful, intimate look at a growing injustice impacting Indigenous families across North America.

“Not Afraid” was awarded the Indigenous Film and Culture Award from Windrider Film Showcase that runs with the Sundance Film Festival.

The film’s director, Michaela Bruce, says of Murphy—and their storytelling mission—“I feel on the deepest level that we have a responsibility to support vulnerable women through all means available to us, including the arts.”

“When we have the ability and resources to support an important work,” Murphy adds, “it is always the right thing to do.”

“The red hand over the mouth stands for all of our missing sisters who are not heard.”
JEN MURPHY
AMBER Alert in Indian Country Associate / artist and filmmaker

Indigenous people—especially women and girls—experience significantly higher rates of violence, murder, and being reported missing compared to other groups.

Find the latest statistics from the FBI here and view the National Criminal Justice Training center infographic (shown below right; click photo to enlarge).
Learn more about national MMIP/MMIWG efforts here and here.
Access the DOJ resource When a Loved One Goes Missing: Resources for Families of Missing American Indian and Alaska Native Adults (shown below left) here.

Alica Murphy Wildcatt, Project Coordinator for AATTAP’s AMBER Alert in Indian Country (AIIC) initiative, participated in the Ashlynne Mike Memorial Mile Walk & Run held in Shiprock, New Mexico, on May 2.

The event drew 111 people—the largest number of participants to date. Attendees walked and/or ran in honor of Ashlynne—namesake of the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act of 2018, which the AIIC initiative works to support.

The event also served to raise awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls (MMIWG) National Day of Awareness May 5.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯,” 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴. “𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴’ 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥.”

AIIC Training & Resources Highlighted in Nevada

AIIC Project Coordinator David Chewiwie attended the Newe Waipaipian Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) and Women (MMIW) Native Conference May 3–7 in Elko, Nevada. The conference drew numerous Indian Country Tribal leaders, Native advocates, law enforcement partners, and community members from throughout Nevada.

Chewiwie gave a presentation about the AIIC, and oversaw the information table for the National Criminal Justice Training Center/AMBER Alert Training & Technical Assistance Program/AIIC initiative, which provides a variety of free training, resources, and technological assistance to Native communities. (Learn more at here.)

“AMBER Alert in Indian country was very well received by conference organizers and attendees,” Chewiwie said. “We’ve already received an invitation to participate in next year's conference.”

A Gifted Moment
Knowing that Pamela Foster’s daughter, Ashlynne Mike, loved butterflies, NCJTC Director/AATTAP Administrator Janell Rasmussen presented Foster with a sterling silver necklace featuring a butterfly with Ashlynne’s name intricately cut into its wings. The necklace was crafted by AATTAP/AIIC Project Coordinator Alica Murphy Wildcatt, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The moment brought Foster to tears. “I will treasure this,” she said. “Thank you for always remembering Ashlynne.”

Ashlynne Mike’s mother, Pamela Foster, center, is shown with U.S. Representative Andy Biggs and Janell Rasmussen, NCJTC Director/AATTAP Administrator. “Pamela is a tremendous voice—a tremendous advocate for children,” Biggs said.

By Denise Gee Peacock

Throughout the 2025 National AMBER Alert & AMBER Alert in Indian Country Symposium, Indian Country discussions primarily centered on the need for training, technology, and collaboration

One workshop led by the Phoenix-area Gila River Police Department (GRPD) focused on a child abduction case in 2024, which occurred shortly after the GRPD had its first AMBER Alert in Indian Country implementation meeting and child abduction tabletop exercise (CATE).

Thanks to the scenario-based primer, following the missing child report, the GRPD was immediately able to activate resources, connect with partnering law enforcement agencies, and coordinate the successful response.

Pamela Foster served as keynote speaker. Her daughter, Ashlynne Mike, was abducted and murdered on the Navajo Nation reservation in 2016. In introducing Foster to attendees, Congressman Biggs said, “Not long after arriving in D.C., I met with her and learned of her tragedy. We decided to work together and try to turn her loss into something positive, something that addressed the specific needs of Tribal communities.”

Working with Foster, and U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, Biggs helped champion passage of the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act of 2018, which provides training and tools for Tribes to best respond if a child goes missing. Find an excerpt of Foster’s message to attendees here.

Pamela Foster’s powerful presentation is excerpted here.

You are all advocates, protectors, and innovators. And we are here to work on behalf of two beautiful little girls who tragically lost their lives: my daughter, 11-year-old Ashlynne Mike, and 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, namesake of the AMBER Alert program.

In the wake of my daughter’s abduction and murder in 2016, I found out that our Navajo Nation, and other Tribes across the country, did not have the most recognized public safety tool, the AMBER Alert—the cornerstone of communication to protect our children. Thus, the resources needed to quickly search for Ashlynne were unavailable. That was tragic.

Statistics show that Indian country experiences a disproportionately high rate of violent crime. That should cause an overwhelming amount of concern.

We are accountable to our communities to find solutions to improve public safety. This is why I lobbied for passage of Ashlynne’s Law [the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act], which helps provide training and tools for Tribes to quickly respond should a child go missing.

We need law enforcement on Tribal land to share information with outside agencies so they can quickly apprehend criminals. Every child has the right to feel safe and live life to its fullest, and my fight is based on what I have experienced as a mother and a parent. I don’t ever want what happened to me to happen to another person.

Indian Country needs AMBER Alert.

Dr. Noelle Hunter talks about her daughter during the 2025 National AMBER Alert & AMBER Alert in Indian Country Symposium — *Dr. Noelle Hunter discusses her daughter's abduction to Mali, West Africa, during the 2025 National AMBER Alert & AMBER Alert in Indian Country Symposium.*

By Denise Gee Peacock

On New Year’s Day 2011, Dr. Noelle Hunter was approaching hour three of waiting in a Morehead, Kentucky, McDonald’s—the agreed-upon meeting place for her ex-husband to return their 4-year-old daughter, Maayimuna (“Muna”)—when she knew something was terribly wrong.

Dr. Noelle Hunter and her daughter "Muna" — *Dr. Noelle Hunter with her daughter, Maayimuna (“Muna”)*

Little did she know Muna’s father had taken her 5,000 miles away to live with his family in their native country of Mali, West Africa, despite Dr. Hunter, having been granted sole custody of her.

While it took more than three years for Hunter to get Muna home, during that time the university professor would learn so much: Chiefly, just how much understanding law enforcement needs to know about the complexities of international parental child abduction (IPCA)—the proactive efforts needed to avoid it, and quick actions necessary to stop it in its tracks.

Hunter’s journey of IPCA understanding began with her local police department. “They told me my problem was a civil matter, a domestic dispute; that I needed to get a court order before they could do anything,” she shared with symposium-goers. “One good thing they told me was to contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). And that’s when I learned that federal law mandates that any child under age 18 must be entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database within two hours of being reported missing.”

NCMEC reached out to Morehead authorities to inform them of their obligation to enter Muna into NCIC. They also advised Hunter to directly contact the FBI for assistance. After learning that Muna had indeed been taken to Mali, she was connected with the U.S. State Department.

Hunter learned her ex-husband had accomplished the abduction by obtaining a passport for Muna in Mali, where she had dual citizenship because of her father (“which I had never taken into account; I thought as long as I had her passport she would have to stay in the U.S.”) She also learned about the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (aka the Hague Abduction Convention), a treaty in which its signatories commit to returning abducted children to their rightful guardian. But while the U.S. is a signatory, Mali is not. They had no obligation to return Muna to her. And meanwhile, the country was in the throes of a government coup.

Desperate yet determined, Hunter immersed herself into a relentless “Missing 4 Muna” campaign to get her daughter home. She read everything she could about IPCA; talked with legal experts, many of whom offered to help her pro bono; navigated the cultural nuances of working with Mali officials; staged protests in front of Mali’s embassy in Washington, D.C.; pleaded with United Nations members; helped create a nonprofit organization to assist other IPCA families; and worked with a congressional delegation from Kentucky to pressure the Mali government to safely return Muna in 2014. By then she was almost 7.

Hunter now works as an assistant professor of political science and philosophy at University of Alabama in Huntsville, which houses the program she founded: the International Child Abduction Prevention and Research Office (ICAPRO). From there, she and her daughters—Muna and her sister, Rysa Lee, advocate for IPCA awareness and support.

“Most of the parents still seeking their children are committed to doing whatever it takes to bring them home. But as I learned, we can’t do it alone,” Hunter said. “That’s why I’m glad this symposium exists, and that all of you undertake full-court-presses of your own to help find missing children and get them home where they belong. Remember, all abductions are local.”

At first glance, a photo of Dr. Noelle Hunter’s daughter, “Muna,” savoring an ice cream cone might be one of many impromptu images of joy a mother cherishes. But as symposium-goers learned, the photo holds special significance–both for Dr. Hunter and law enforcement. Here’s the story Dr. Hunter shared about it:

During my mission to get Muna home from West Africa, I was constantly traveling from Kentucky, where I lived at the time, to Washington, D.C., knocking on every door I could. It was exhausting work. On one drive home, I was particularly distraught, and wasn’t really paying attention to my speed. So because I was speeding, I was pulled over by a Maryland State Trooper. He took one look at me, and said, “What’s wrong?” So I told him. Everything. He then started trying to help, asking if I’d talked with the U.S. State Department, if I’d done this or done that. I told him yes—I was doing everything I could.

At that point he said he wouldn’t write me a ticket, but added, “Promise me two things. That you’ll slow down and and get home safely. And that when your daughter returns home, make sure her first ice cream is courtesy of a trooper in Maryland.”

So that's what you see in this photo: that trooper’s gift to her—and me.

I think that’s significant at a conference like this. Please consider that local law enforcement support is crucial for a parent experiencing IPCA. A little grace never hurts either.

This gallery is not published.

By Denise Gee Peacock

AATTAP Child Abduction Response Team (CART) Assessors James Holmes, Stacie Lick, Vonyale Montgomery, and Lead Assessor/CART Manager Derek VanLuchene (in neon vests) can be seen working with multiple law enforcement agencies from Burlington County, New Jersey, during a large-scale training exercise to strengthen responses to missing and endangered children incidents.

Nearly 100 members of law enforcement joined in the exercise “to enhance their knowledge of how to handle cases involving our most vulnerable populations,” said Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia Bradshaw.

“The training was designed to be a worst-case scenario involving a missing boy who suffers from epilepsy,” reported Fox 29. “Following protocol, the investigation gradually ramps up to a full-scale activation of CART,” one involving about 30 actors.

Burlington County is expected to be the fifth team in New Jersey to receive CART certification from the U.S. Department of Justice with AATTAP/NCJTC's help.

“This is definitely an excellent educational experience for all our personnel,” noted Medford Township Police Chief Arthur Waterman.

“Thank you to Fox 29 for reporting on the excellent work being done by Burlington County to bring together partners to prepare to respond to missing and abducted children,” said AATTAP Administrator Janell Rasmussen.

>> Watch the story here! https://www.fox29.com/video/1550356

Nona Best is the Director of the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons. She has been with the center under purview of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol since 2009. Her state career began in 2003 as a corrections officer, also serving as a processing assistant for the State Bureau of Investigation, and as a lottery supervisor for the Alcohol Law Enforcement branch. Best became interested in missing juvenile cases as her office while supervising the lottery was juxtaposed closely to the Center for Missing Persons. Astounded at the number of missing juvenile cases, she wanted to pursue work with the center. Best now trains law enforcement officers on how to handle missing persons, sex trafficking and international abduction cases. She also works as an advocate for abused and neglected children with the Guardian Ad Litem program.

WHAT IS UNIQUE TO YOUR MISSING PERSONS PROGRAM, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK HELPS MAKE YOUR PROGRAM SUCCESSFUL?

I think what is unique about the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons is it is a one-stop shop. I handle all missing persons, adults and children for the state. All three of the state’s alert systems (AMBER, SILVER, EAS and BLUE) are housed and activated from the Center, which is manned 24/7 through our nationally known number, 800- 522-KIDS (5437). We are successful because we try to keep our training levels up. I get training and go out and train every chance I get. Once I receive training, I share it with my chain of command and through the communication line with troopers so we can grow strong together. Everyone understands why any request from the center is needed and why it is a priority.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO FIND MISSING AND ABDUCTED CHILDREN?

First and foremost I think it’s because I’m a mother and a foster parent. I can’t imagine not knowing where my child is. I worry about the children out there and their safety. I know the average person doesn’t understand how people can go missing without a clue or reason. It’s hard when you have a parent or grandparent on the phone crying, to not cry with them. I sometimes have to start praying and trying to keep the parent encouraged with hope. What I love about my job is helping left-behind parents and siblings at their most vulnerable time and being able to assist them in a way that gives them understanding about the process of finding their missing loved ones.

WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE IN MAINTAINING THE EFFECTIVENESS AND STRENGTH OF YOUR AMBER ALERT AND MISSING PERSON PROGRAMS?

I work with a great group of people. For the most part I get to work the programs and make changes as I see fit. I have such great support from above that I’m able to get our needs met without delays.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN WITH YOUR AMBER ALERT AND OTHER PROGRAMS IN THE FUTURE?

I would love to see all my alert programs automated with no paper trail. The Blue alert is the only alert that is automated in a way that law enforcement can go in and create their request online and we approve it online. We are working to get the Silver and AMBER Alert programs set up that way.

Also, I continue to advocate for stricter criteria for our Silver Alert program. The current language states the alert is for a person “believed to be” suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or a disability that requires them to be protected from abuse or harm.

I would like the criteria to say that the person is “diagnosed” rather than “believed to be” suffering. I would also like to have more annual statewide training sessions and a stronger relationship with our Indian Country partners.

PLEASE SHARE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR MOST MEMORABLE SUCCESS STORY IN WORKING A MISSING CHILD CASE. HOW DID THE AMBER ALERT AND CENTER FOR MISSING PERSONS SUPPORT THE OUTCOME?

During the past 10 years there are many good ones, and sad ones, to remember. We were really blessed in one case from 2016 in New Hanover County. A six-year-old girl was abducted from her yard while playing with her siblings.

A convicted sex offender was riding by on a moped and just stopped, scooped her up and took off. Thankfully the kids ran in and told their parents immediately. The public also started calling 911 saying there was a small child on a moped without a helmet. Although it was 18 hours before the child was located, the suspect was identified fairly quickly. The victim was found the next day chained to a tree in the woods about eight miles from her home.

Sheriff McMahon said it best, “I think you can say we beat the odds today.” We are all amazed and grateful she was alive; but at the same time we were hurt that this child and her family had to experience this.

HOW HAVE YOUR CAREER AND LIFE EXPERIENCES, INCLUDING YOUR WORK AS AN AMBER ALERT COORDINATOR AND/OR CLEARINGHOUSE MANAGER, STRENGTHENED YOUR COMMITMENT TO HELPING ENDANGERED, MISSING AND ABDUCTED CHILDREN?

The job and training really keep you on your toes. You think about it everywhere you go. If I’m in public and I see a child wandering or running around alone, I automatically go into alert mode. I start looking for parents, watching the child and sometimes getting upset that parents could be so careless.

My commitment to training and talking to youth has increased now more than ever due to sex trafficking. It is so prevalent and growing so fast but it’s like a shadow. No one is paying attention except law enforcement. Teens, even runaways, still don’t seem to be aware of or worry about sex trafficking.

State laws need to be tightened and changed to provide the left-behind parents with more protection and rights. An absent parent should be held accountable and not allowed to pick up and leave with a child. The trauma to the child and left-behind parent is tremendous. The left-behind parent also has to come up with money to start the proceedings to get the child back. I just feel that is so wrong.

HOW HAS TRAINING HELPED YOU IN AMBER ALERT CASES?

AMBER Alert trainings like the annual symposiums are priceless. The networking and classes open your mind to new ideas and always make me rededicate myself to do all I can. I always come home with a long to-do list. The training helps me be the state’s expert on missing and abducted persons and supports me in keeping all our programs running with progress.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER AMBER ALERT PARTNERS?

Get training, and always feel free to call on your AMBER Alert partners. Everyone I have ever called with a question, a request for assistance, a program information sheet or anything else has been more than happy to help. It is a wonderful world to be in when people doing the same work as you, have the same passion for the work as you are willing to offer assistance.

I love that you also get to go put faces with the names at the national level. I would also suggest they share their training opportunities with others who are interested in or work missing person’s cases.

Joshua H. Kean is a senior investigator and has been a member of the New York State Police (NYSP) for 15 years. He is the supervisor of the Special Victims Unit and the NYS AMBER Alert Coordinator. Kean has assisted the NYSP Community Narcotics Enforcement Team with undercover operations involving drug sales and human trafficking. He is responsible for law enforcement training in the areas of child abuse and sexual offense investigations, elder abuse and the AMBER Alert. Kean also serves on the NYS Children’s Justice Task Force, Sex Assault Response Team, Committee for Coordination of Police Services to Elderly Persons, Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking, and other advisory groups related to special victims.

WHAT IS UNIQUE TO YOUR AMBER ALERT PROGRAM AND WHAT DO YOU THINK HELPS MAKE IT SUCCESSFUL?

New York State is unique because it is a very large state. We worked with our dedicated partners to split the state into 12 alert activation regions to ensure residents do not become desensitized. We want the people of New York to feel a sense of urgency with every activation. We attribute our success to team work. We work very closely with the NYS Broadcasters Association, Office of Emergency Management, Sheriffs Association, Association of the Chiefs of Police, Missing Persons Clearinghouse, Lottery, Department of Transportation, and Thruway Authority. After every AMBER Alert, we have a review of that case with the investigating agency and our partners to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our response and operations, and how we can do better. The NYS AMBER Alert program is shaped by and continues to improve because of these after-action reviews. We also have annual meetings with our partners to discuss past and current practices, as well as what we would like to see in the future. A major contributor to the success we’ve experienced in New York is that we have a strong partnership with surrounding states. We have an agreement in place that if AMBER Alerts have been activated in surrounding states and they request us to activate, we activate.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO FIND MISSING AND ABDUCTED CHILDREN?

My children are my motivation. I am a father of four; ages 18, 12, 11 and 9. I look at each case thinking, “If this was my child how would I want it handled?” I have always had a passion for helping and working with children. One of the first jobs I had as a teenager was a youth counselor. I strived to provide a safe and fun environment for the neighborhood children. I was a varsity high school baseball coach for a local high school and I am currently the head coach for my daughter’s traveling softball team. The children I have worked with know they can come to me with anything without any judgment. When I joined the NYSP I wanted to be the voice for those who didn’t have one. I started working child abuse and child sexual assault cases in 2008 and became a certified child forensic interviewer to better serve child victims.

WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE IN MAINTAINING THE EFFECTIVENESS AND STRENGTH OF YOUR AMBER ALERT PROGRAM?

I have noticed in my short time as the AMBER Alert Coordinator that there is a need for training regarding the criteria for an AMBER Alert and how to utilize this tool.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN WITH YOUR AMBER ALERT PROGRAM IN THE FUTURE? WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE PROGRAM?

I would like to provide training around the state on New York’s AMBER Alert criteria and how to request an activation. In a child abduction, every second counts. I would like to see all of the state AMBER Alert systems connected. Although we have a great working relationship with each state, activating an alert in another state requires us to contact that AMBER Coordinator and provide information. Then the other coordinator has to import all of the data into their system and send out the alert. If our systems were connected, we could just send the information electronically so they can review it and send the alert. This would cut minutes off of the process, which is so important when every second counts.

PLEASE SHARE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR MOST MEMORABLE SUCCESS STORY IN WORKING A MISSING CHILD CASE. HOW DID THE AMBER ALERT SUPPORT THE OUTCOME? WHAT WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS LEARNED?

We had a case with 16- and 18-year-old suspects who took a 12-year-old child early in the morning, stole a gun, and a vehicle that contained another gun. We activated an AMBER Alert and recovered the child within a few hours. Because of the AMBER Alert, the suspects hid in a vacant house in the woods near one of their homes. When one suspect attempted to go home to get supplies, the police were contacted by his mother and subsequently located the child and suspects.

HOW HAVE YOUR CAREER AND LIFE EXPERIENCES, INCLUDING YOUR WORK AS AN AMBER ALERT COORDINATOR, STRENGTHENED YOUR COMMITMENT TO HELPING ENDANGERED MISSING AND ABDUCTED CHILDREN?

I have more than 15 years of law enforcement experience and more than 11 years dealing directly with children who have been physically and sexually abused and/or neglected and maltreated. There is no greater feeling than being part of a case that brings a child home safe.

HOW HAS TRAINING HELPED YOU IN AMBER ALERT CASES?

Training has helped our unit prepare for cases involving abducted children. We regularly practice weekly by giving each other different scenarios and working through a mock activation. We do this so that in real cases, when the criteria to activate are present, we can execute the AMBER Alert process with ease and accuracy.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER AMBER ALERT PARTNERS?

Get to know your bordering states AMBER Alert Coordinators and Missing Person Clearinghouse Managers. One of the most valuable events since becoming the NYS AMBER Alert Coordinator was attending the National AMBER Alert Symposium. I could put names with faces, develop lasting relationships, and learn from their experiences. I look forward to the next one.

Tribal leaders, law enforcement, and child protection advocates came together September 25-26, 2018, in Fort McDowell, Arizona, to learn, dialogue and network at the inaugural session of what will be a series of collaborative training and technical assistance events under the new Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Law.

The AMBER Alert Training & Technical Assistance Program (AATTAP) delivered the event under the direction and funding of the U.S. Department of Justice, and featured presentations by Pamela Foster, mother of Ashlynne Mike; the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC); the Arizona State AMBER Alert Coordinator; NCJTC Associates who serve as subject matter experts in Indian Country law and AMBER Alert implementation; and AATTAP Administrator Jim Walters.

Topics discussed included lessons learned from the 2008–2010 AMBER in Indian Country pilot project, Tribal access to the Arizona State AMBER Alert System, facilitated discussions on Tribal resources and AMBER Alert planning, as well as important next steps and recommended actions for implementing AMBER Alert and developing comprehensive child protection strategies.

The primary mission of the AMBER Alert in Indian Country (AIIC) initiative is to design, develop, and implement AMBER Alert programs in Indian Country; to foster relationships between Tribes and their State and Regional AMBER Alert plans and partners; and to provide Tribal communities with training and resources to quickly recover missing, abducted, or exploited children.

AATTAP has developed a five-element process for implementing AMBER Alert in Indian Country under the new law. That process involves educating and informing, assessing needs, conducting meetings, developing Tribal resolutions and partnership agreements with state AMBER Alert systems, and delivering training and technical assistance to ensure the support needed is provided every step of the way.

Watch future issues of the Advocate for updates and progress as AATTAP works with Tribes across the country to bring AMBER Alert into full realization in Indian Country.

Jolene Hardesty has been the Missing Persons Clearinghouse manager for Michigan since 2017. She has been involved in law enforcement for 18 years and started as a police dispatcher because she thought “it would be cool to be on the good guy's team.” Seven years later she became a dispatcher for the Michigan State Police and was promoted to an analyst, working with the state's Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN). Hardesty volunteered to help with the 2011 Missing in Michigan Day and developed a passion for missing children from that experience.

What is the best part of your job?

Getting babies back safe and getting them to someone who won't hurt them and will care about them. I will use any resource possible to bring children home and make them safe. When I think of everything I've done in my career, I have had some great moments as a dispatcher. But nothing fills my cup like working with missing persons, working with law enforcement, and social workers to let children know someone cares. Each child is a human being who means something. I just love my job.

What is the hardest part of your job?

The cases where despite our best efforts it doesn't seem to have that big of an impact. We recently had a 15-month-old boy who tested positive for cocaine at birth. Child protective services wanted to put the infant into protective care but the judge didn't want to take the baby away from his biological mom and dad. The mom didn't want to be in the child's life. The dad was struggling with alcoholism. He just couldn't provide safe care for the child. The child was allowed to live with his mother and father but he didn't have a stable, consistent home environment. I just felt like the boy was being lost and we couldn't do anything about it because the judge said we need to allow the parents to parent their child. You have to go forward and continue in your work, knowing you did your best, but that it likely will not change things.

What do you think is the value of the AMBER Alert?

I couldn't put a value on AMBER Alert. To me it's like asking ‘How much is my child worth?’ You can't put a price tag on these babies. They're precious and worth more than anything.

The AMBER Alert is an invaluable tool. I have seen it in action and it is really awesome. It creates a lot of work for officers, but at the same time gives them leads to follow up on that they would not have otherwise. Social media also provides lots of leads and we love our media partners because they are often the difference in making or breaking a case. We try to give as many stories as possible to the media to help find missing people.

Do you have an AMBER Alert that stands out for you?

Probably my first one. Our AMBER Alert Coordinator was on maternity leave; our unidentified remains analyst had gone home. I tried to figure out who gets what information and how to get it to them. Sarah still helped me even though she was on maternity leave. I was able to follow the process and effectively handle the alert, even though it was my second month on the job.

The best part of this AMBER Alert was when the police pinged the suspect's cellphone and it came up in Ohio. I called Ohio and asked for an alert in their state. When they issued their AMBER Alert, the suspect, who was originally headed southbound on I-75 away from Michigan, must have received the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) because his phone started moving northbound back towards Michigan. Police saw his vehicle and apprehended him. It was a great feeling to get the Michigan and Ohio AMBER Alerts issued, and to catch the suspect and safely recover the child. It was a great day, and an awesome reward.

Michigan recently changed their criteria for the AMBER Alert - what impact has that made?

Educating the public about the differences between an AMBER Alert and the Endangered Missing Advisory (EMA) has been so important. We wanted to be more in line with the national AMBER Alert criteria. A few of our community partners, especially the autistic community, found it difficult to learn we were removing autism as a sole factor for issuing an AMBER Alert. It was negatively viewed initially, but in reality it has strengthened the effectiveness of both alerts, because we can issue the most appropriate alert based upon each case's circumstances around the reasons for endangerment of the missing child. The EMA has become better understood as an effective alerting tool for endangered missing children who have gone missing for reasons other than an abduction; such as those who wander or go missing and have autism.

Reaching out to the public about the importance of more tightly defined criteria for AMBER Alert, and having an alternate alerting plan and tool in the EMA, has been key in our success. We used to issue an AMBER Alert for just about anything. We've tightened up that criteria, and are now more careful with the use of the alert, having issued just one AMBER Alert so far in 2018.

To understand the power of social media, just consider what we have done with sharing information through various platforms on missing persons cases. People share information about missing persons; and they know things and share that with others on the sites. If you share a post, you are helping because someone else will see it and say, ‘I saw that car at a gas station or that person at a grocery store.’ The word spreads like wildfire.

We also try to do juvenile sweeps, where we go through a list of juveniles who are missing in a particular area—a city, county or tri-county area. We try to recover as many missing children as possible and talk with them carefully as part of the recovery process. We look for human trafficking elements or abuse at home to find out why the child is running away. Children don't run away for ‘no reason’ so we try to find out the ‘why’ behind their decision to run.

What motivates you to find missing and abducted children?

Just knowing how important it is for every child to have a safe home, and to feel safe in his or her own bed every night. I'm a parent so I want my kids to feel safe and loved. I do my best, so that even if these children never know people care about them, we can do everything in our power to make sure they feel safe. We hope the children will see or sense the passion we have to make sure they have a safe home, and even a bed, toys and clothes all their own. They shouldn't be scared to be where they live.

What advice would you give to other partners who work with the AMBER Alert program?

Networking has been one of the best things I have done for my career. I like to meet new people and see how their roles and work fit into the larger criminal justice system of which we're both a part. It's easier to call someone when you have a relationship. I can say ‘It's Jolene in Michigan and I need your help.’

I had to call Alabama about a missing three-month-old girl whose mother had substance abuse issues. Trying to avoid drug testing, the mother fled the state in an attempt to avoid having her child taken away from her. I was able to track the mother to Huntington, Alabama. I contacted Alabama's clearinghouse manager for help in rescuing the baby and getting her out of harm's way. The field investigator went to Wal-Mart where the mom was shopping with her baby. The investigator got her license plate number as well as a lead that the car had been seen at a trailer park. A deputy located the mother sitting in her car in the driveway. The case workers recovered the baby and the mother returned to Michigan. She later died of a heroin overdose. I feel like we helped save that child, and it means so much to me that I had a helping hand in finding that baby and getting her to safety.

During another investigation we found out a baby was missing from state care and it was believed she was the product of sexual abuse between the 27-year-old mom and a 15-year-old male victim. I used the EMA to broadcast to the area where the baby lived in Michigan. Within hours after the advisory went out on social media, the sheriff's office received and followed up on numerous tips. The baby was hidden, carted around in a laundry basket in the backseat of a family member's vehicle as they fled authorities. We recovered the child and the suspect was later apprehended.

America has lost a hero and servant of the people with the passing of Senator John McCain of Arizona. Senator McCain exemplified all that is best about our country and made his life one of service to others. Senator McCain introduced what is now the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act of 2018 after the abduction and murder of 11-year-old Ashlynne Mike of the Navajo Nation. While this is only one example of his leadership, we can hope to honor his legacy by the work we do to protect children and to be better servants of the communities we serve.

With deepest respect,

Jim Walters
Administrator, AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program
National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College

Just a month before Hurricanes Maria and Irma brought massive devastation in Puerto Rico, law enforcement officers in the U.S. territory had fortunately received training on how to find missing and abducted children.

The AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program’s event held August 23-24, 2017, had more than 450 participants representing all 13 regions of Puerto Rico. The event included presentations from a family member of an abducted child, lessons on how to interview high-risk victims and how to handle long-term missing person cases.

”The participants were engaged and they were eager to learn,” said Jesi Leon-Baron, regional liaison and project coordinator with the AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program. ”They were asking lots of questions. They wanted to know about the different scenarios and different tools to help them with their investigations, especially with high risk victims.”

This was the first AMBER Alert training in Puerto Rico in more than a decade. Participants discussed how to organize their resources and find funding to strengthen the territory’s AMBER Alert program and how to develop a Child Abduction Response Team.

“They really want to mimic the same systems we have here in the continental U.S. to find abducted children,” added Leon- Baron. “They know the need is there.”

Kay Vazquez, a criminal analyst for the Special Investigations Bureau and Clearinghouse for Missing Children for Puerto Rico said the training was highly useful.

“I especially enjoyed the presentations regarding long-term missing children cases and hope to implement some of the ideas in our investigations,” said Vazquez. “The presentations on high risk victims and trafficking also changed my perception of runaways and how our jurisdiction deals with this type of investigation. It was very gratifying to see other individuals who are committed in fighting child related crimes.”

Law enforcement representatives from the U.S. and Mexico participated in a Cross-Border Abduction Response training July 20-21, 2017, in Tucson, Arizona. The presentation was part of the AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program’s Southern Border Initiative (SBI), and focused on the southern border state AMBER Alert programs and how those states can work cooperatively with the Alerta AMBER in Mexico system. Participants engaged in challenging cross-border abduction scenario tabletop exercises to work through the process of identifying and understanding these resources and critically important coordination points.

Community members, law enforcement and others working in prevention and response to the problems of sex trafficking came together for a community workshop offered by the AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program and the National Criminal Justice Training Center (NCJTC) September 14, 2017. Throughout the event, participants listened and learned from a panel of survivors of sex trafficking, discussing important questions and dynamics which must be understood in order to carry out effective prevention and recovery work. Cindy McCain of the McCain Institute’s Human Trafficking Program also addressed law enforcement officers through a video conference during the workshop.

“It was an honor to have Cindy McCain join us,” said Jason Sterling, AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program Manager. “Her program educates, raises awareness and implements innovative, action-based solutions to end modern slavery.”

Otto is Ohio’s first state-certified courthouse dog which allows him to sit in the witness box when a child or victim of crime is called to testify in court.

“He will give that unconditional love that kids sometimes never get,” added Romans. “It helps for better testimony or an interview. He will help kids who don’t want to be interviewed or do not feel comfortable enough to be interviewed.”

She remembers one child who did not want to be interviewed until Otto jumped on his lap. “He just started crying and then let go and told us what happened,” she said. “[Otto] works his magic.”

Romans urges more organizations to get a facilities dog, especially if they work with abduction, human trafficking and other abuse victims.

His full name is Ottimo, but this lab and retriever mix canine is often called “Awesome Otto.” He is a professionally trained companion that assists crime victims, witnesses and others in need during child forensic interviews, forensic medical exams and legal proceedings.

Otto was also a star guest at the AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program’s June 2017 Multi-Disciplinary Response to High Risk Victims training in Columbus, Ohio.

Laura Romans is the Crime Victims Service Manager for the Harcum House Child Advocacy Center in Lancaster, Ohio. She takes Otto to trainings and when she works as a forensic interviewer of child abuse victims.

“Everyone loves him,” said Romans. “He is an emotional support for the children. When he is calm then the children are calm. They think it is amazing he will curl up with him.”

The dog was specifically bred and trained for two years by Canine Companions for Independence, an accredited organization of Assistance Dogs International. He has been present during more than 500 child interviews.

Stacey Pearson has been with the Louisiana State Police for 18 years and works out of Lafayette. She has been the manager of the Louisiana Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children (LACMEC) since 2012 and the state AMBER Alert Coordinator since January 2015.

Pearson is a third generation law enforcement officer, and has served as a uniform trooper, narcotics agent, and criminal investigator. She was also the supervisor on a task force investigating the deaths of the “Jeff Davis 8,” the unsolved murders of eight women in Jefferson Davis Parish.

Pearson conducts and coordinates crimes against children investigations and works as a police composite sketch artist. In 2016, she founded The Pelican Project, a charitable foundation working with families of missing, abducted and exploited children who are in need of reunification assistance.

HOW HAVE YOUR CAREER AND LIFE EXPERIENCES, INCLUDING YOUR WORK AS AN AMBER ALERT COORDINATOR AND CLEARINGHOUSE MANAGER, STRENGTHENED YOUR COMMITMENT TO HELPING ENDANGERED, MISSING AND ABDUCTED CHILDREN?

My work on the Jeff Davis 8 case and my duties as Clearinghouse Manager and AMBER Alert Coordinator are instrumental in my commitment to help children. It is my goal to continue to develop and provide training in Louisiana and nationally to move this good work forward.

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR AMBER ALERT AND CLEARINGHOUSE PROGRAM, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK HELPS MAKE YOUR PROGRAMS SUCCESSFUL?

Our Clearinghouse and AMBER Alert programs are not unique; however, we do strive to provide any and all assistance needed to law enforcement agencies conducting missing child/person investigations. Through a vast network of contacts, the LACMEC and the Louisiana Fusion Center are able to communicate and coordinate the response to critical missing children as well as child trafficking investigations.

WHAT IS YOUR VISION AND WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN WITH YOUR AMBER ALERT AND CLEARINGHOUSE PROGRAMS IN THE FUTURE?

My vision for the future is to have a website dedicated to the LACMEC and the Louisiana AMBER Alert programs with photographs of missing children available to the public for viewing, searching and sharing. I would also like to provide links to National Center

for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) training resources on this website as well as safety tips. I also have a goal to create a Louisiana Missing Persons Day.

PLEASE SHARE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR MOST MEMORABLE SUCCESS STORY IN WORKING A MISSING CHILD CASE.

Two cases stand out the most:

An alleged California sex offender and a woman were found in Louisiana with four missing children, ages four, six, seven and eight. The suspects were arrested at a convenience store and the children were found inside his car dirty and hungry. The couple fled California to help prevent the man from being arrested for sexual acts involving a minor.
A couple from Shreveport, Louisiana, were arrested in Arizona after allegedly abducting two boys, ages seven and two. The couple allegedly committed a bank robbery after they took the children.

Sometimes our “successes” on the surface are in reality very tragic. The elation that is felt when a child is recovered can quickly be replaced with anger, grief and disgust at the circumstances the children were taken; how they lived and the circumstances they were rescued from. The reality that no one person can “fix” the situation takes its toll. There is no magic wand.

It took only a few minutes for 10-year old Ashton Fish to express for everyone at the 2017 AMBER Alert Symposium, through both word and dance, why everything possible must be done to protect missing and abducted children in Indian Country.

“I want to be the voice for all the Indian children,” said Fish. “I want the AMBER Alert to be on the reservation so none of our children can go missing, no one can steal our children and we won’t be afraid to walk in the dark.”

The young man then performed a traditional dance for all missing children. Fish first became aware of the issue of for Native American children when he heard about the abduction and murder of 11-year-old Ashlynne Mike on the Navajo Reservation in May 2016. Fish created a YouTube video to perform a dance in honor of Ashlynne Mike and to plead for all parents to watch over their children.

“I have been called by the Spirits to come around here and dance for Ashlynne Mike and all the other stolen kids,” said Fish on the video. “I dedicate this song for all the children, the aunts who are sad. Aho!”

Fish is a member of the Assiniboine Nation and traveled from Blackfoot, Idaho, to speak and dance at the symposium. His grandmother, Kristen Lowdog, said her son’s dancing is a good way for Native Americans to combat this problem because it involves their own culture and ways.

“He is very spiritually mature and voices his opinion out,” said Lowdog. “He has a big heart and he wants to do what he can to help.”

The artistry of Ashton’s expression of dance, combined with the wisdom of his words and vision for AMBER Alert’s protection of children on tribal lands, left symposium participants eager to meet this young man and shake his hand following the presentation.

Ashton and his grandmother presented AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program Administrator Jim Walters with a handmade ceremonial quilt in honor of his work with AMBER Alert and Child Protection in Indian Country.

CHALLENGES IN INDIAN COUNTRY

AATTAP director Jim Walters has been working for years to help bring training and resources to Indian Country. Although much has been accomplished, he said most tribes do not have what is needed to slow the tide of missing and abducted children from their communities.

“Child abductions are down in the U.S. with one exception, and that is in Indian Country,” said Walters. “Children in Indian Country are especially vulnerable.”

Walters emphasized the problem of lacking data on missing and abducted children from tribal lands, noting the actual numbers are unknown because no federal or Native American agency is collecting that information.

Walters cited the murder of Ashlynne Mike as a tragic example of the challenges being faced in Indian Country. When Ashlynne was first discovered missing on May 3, 2016, her brother ran two-and-a-half miles to find a car with a phone—but the phone did not work. Twelve hours into the investigation, authorities were still unclear whether the state or the tribe should issue an AMBER Alert.

“Our priority is to save lives,” said Walters. “We can work out the jurisdictional issues later.”

The Navajo Nation is now working with Arizona and Utah to improve the AMBER Alert program on the reservation.

Walters offered other examples of unique challenges in Indian Country.

The unique history of cultural intervention and jurisdictional complexities
High turnover and lack of staffing
Lack of understanding of Indian Child Welfare laws
Use of the internet to lure Native American children away from their homes, yet these children are most often reported as runaways

Ashlynne Mike’s case did bring to light one very strong feature of Native American communities - they have the best trackers in the world. Walters gave examples of the superior skill and coordination tribal law enforcement and community members demonstrate when conducting searches. He discussed other child protection efforts and collaborative approaches that can help make a difference in Native American community efforts to prevent child exploitation and abduction.

Needs assessments should and will continue to be conducted in more than 100 Native American communities
State and community strategies with strong leadership from the tribal government must be developed
Child Abduction Response Teams (CARTs) comprised of tribal, state and federal agencies should be championed, developed and maintained
Prevention education in elementary schools and additional training for law enforcement should be developed as a key component of a comprehensive child protection strategy

“Children are a precious resource,” said Walters. “We have to take a tribal approach where every member is responsible for the community. We want to assure the victim’s family and community that all resources are utilized in the successful recovery of a child.”

More information about child protection resources available for Indian Country can be found at the Tribal Database website – https://www.tribaldatabase.org.

Nicole Morell has worked for the Massachusetts State Police for 21 years and became the state’s AMBER Alert coordinator in 2007. Sergeant Morell also worked with the Missing Persons Clearinghouse for three years. She previously worked as a detective for the Worcester County State Police Detective Unit and investigated major crimes, including the disappearance and murder of Molly Bish. Sergeant Morrell also worked as an undercover narcotics detective.

What is unique to your AMBER Alert and Clearinghouse program, and what do you think helps make your programs successful?

One of the unique aspects of our program is the cohesive partnership between the New England states and the importance these states place on holding annual meetings to build and maintain strong relationships among the coordinators. They allow each agency to gain knowledge and experience through past issued alerts and review of AMBER Alert plans and criteria.

Due to the cohesiveness of the Northeastern states; all states agreed that when an alert is confirmed or credible evidence exists that a suspect has crossed into another state, there will be no time delay in issuing the alert.

In terms of our partnership with media, our program met with the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association a few years ago to discuss best practices for an activation. As a result of the communication and understanding built from that effort, the media has not prematurely announced an alert and waits for our office to send them a press release advising them an alert has been activated.

Since the passing of the Missing Person/AMBER Alert legislation, I have been a sitting member of the Missing Persons Task Force Committee. The task force discusses ways to improve missing person (juvenile) investigations.

What challenges do you face in maintaining the effectiveness and strength of your AMBER Alert and Clearinghouse programs?

Funding and lack of manpower.

What would you like to see happen with your AMBER Alert and Clearinghouse programs in the future? What is your vision for the programs?

Combine all AMBER Alert and Clearinghouse programs. When the agencies are unified, they have so much more potential in helping to resolve missing children cases.

Please share details about your most memorable success story in working a missing child case. How did the AMBER Alert and operations of the Clearinghouse support the outcomes? What were the most important lessons learned?

A homicide occurred in July 2011 in upstate New York. The New York State Police did not activate immediately but requested Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut to activate, which they did. During the after-action meeting, we discussed the importance of the requesting agency agreeing to activate as well. While an alert is not normally activated to locate a suspect wanted for fleeing from a crime scene, the requesting agency should issue an alert for several reasons: the abductor is the suspect in a homicide; the chance of a child being harmed or murdered is heightened; and the child is considered to be in danger due to the police search, which could result in a motor vehicle pursuit or violence when the suspect is located.

How have your career and life experiences, including your work as an AMBER Alert Coordinator and Clearinghouse Manager, strengthened your commitment to helping endangered, missing and abducted children?

Since the Massachusetts AMBER Alert program’s inception in 2002, we have maintained a 100 percent success rate. I credit this to the investigative knowledge of our team, which consists of one full-time and two part-time coordinators with 30 years of collective investigative experience. Our team also has seven detective captains and majors from our Division of Investigative Services. Our team understands the importance of acting quickly but effectively to recover our most vulnerable population.

Patty Wetterling fought back tears while describing how she learned her son's body had been found after nearly three decades of searching and hoping he was still alive. On October 22, 1989, her 11-year-old son Jacob was riding his bike when he was taken by a masked gunman in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Wetterling shared her story with nearly 100 AMBER Alert Coordinators and Missing Person Clearinghouse Managers from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico at the 2017 AMBER Alert Symposium held June 27-29, 2017, in Bloomington, Minnesota.

“We were alone,” she said. “I knew nothing about law enforcement. I knew nothing about your world.”

Wetterling was a stay-at-home mom when her son was abducted but soon became one of the nation's fiercest advocates for missing and abducted children, all the while continuing to search tirelessly for her son. Soft-spoken, yet amazingly strong, Patty shared with symposium participants important lessons learned in the 27 years through which she and her family persevered in the search for Jacob.

Of the many lessons and insights shared, she explained how important it is to have a family spokesperson to talk to reporters, squelch rumors, keep the story alive and make sure all media outlets are treated fairly.

Wetterling emphasized that the victim's family needs to be asked the hard questions from the beginning to help with the investigation and build trust for the long term. She added that a multi-jurisdictional task force is critical when a child is abducted, and officers should leave their egos at the door when working on the task force.

“There is a problem of silos in law enforcement,” said Wetterling. As she spoke about this issue and how law enforcement through training and preparedness, can overcome this dangerous barrier to swift and effective response in child abduction cases she emphasized, “It is not about you. It is about the child.”

On September 1, 2016, Danny James Heinrich led investigators to the burial site of Jacob Wetterling and admitted to sexually assaulting and killing him. “You search for 27 years and eight days and it was over,” said Wetterling. “I did not know where to go for what was next.”

Wetterling plans to continue talking to law enforcement groups and others involved with missing and abducted child cases to help increase understanding about these cases and improve preparation for effective response; all in an effort to make things better the next time a child is taken.

She said Elizabeth Smart, Jaycee Dugard, Ben Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck should give every parent hope their missing child may come home. “Never give up. Ever. You cannot give up on these cases,” said Wetterling.

Five Year Reunion

James Walters, AMBER Alert Training & Technical Assistance Program (AATTAP) Administrator, welcomed new and familiar faces to the first AMBER Alert Symposium in five years. The symposium was presented by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Walters encouraged participants to take advantage of the more than 130 AATTAP classes that can be requested at no cost for customized delivery in their areas, as well as those training courses which can be completed online anytime 24/7. “There is no reason not to get AMBER Alert training,” said Walters. “We need to go forward. We cannot go backwards.”

Eileen Garry, Acting Administrator with OJJDP, remarked on the importance of coming together, noting the symposium was designed to bring key AMBER Alert program partners together to foster coordination and collaboration. “We really do rely on you, the boots on the ground, who eat and breathe this every day,” she said. “There is no issue stronger in my heart than the return of missing and abducted children.”

New in 2017

Dan Mills, NCMEC Training Program Manager, noted that 60 percent of all AMBER Alerts involve suspects who are family members. “Even though they are with a family member, this does not mean they are safe,” said Mills. “You never stop searching until the child comes home.”

NCMEC tracks all attempted abductions in the U.S. “A lot of abduction attempts are not successful on the first try,” said Mills. “We can look for trends and patterns when a child is missing.”

Mills explained that NCMEC offers a wealth of resources to help law enforcement, families and community members with missing and abducted child cases: a video to help searchers find missing children with autism; age progression photos that can be used when a child has been missing for an extended period of time; advanced forensic techniques to produce pictures of victims who are recovered deceased; Team HOPE, a support group of volunteers who have experienced having a missing child; and Team Adam, a group of retired law enforcement officers who can provide expertise during a missing child case.

Updates were provided on the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), the national warning system used to disseminate Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). On January 1, 2013, IPAWS began distributing AMBER Alerts to all cell phones in the geographical area of the abducted child.

Mark Lucero, IPAWS Engineering Chief, shared information on upcoming improvements for WEA: a fourth type of alert for public safety will now be issued in addition to AMBER Alerts and other alerts for national and extreme weather emergencies; hyperlinks to website addresses and phone numbers will be added in November 2017; messages will be available in Spanish in November 2018; and message length will increase from 90 to 360 characters in May 2019.

In discussing the composition of these messages and how IPAWS and WEA support them, Lucero noted how vital license plate numbers and vehicle descriptions are for issuing AMBER Alerts. He also emphasized how training which includes testing and operation of IPAWS and related systems will promote stronger readiness the next time a child is taken. “Test, train, exercise and make mistakes,” he said.

The Big Picture

Drew Evans, Superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, encouraged participants to review and refresh their AMBER Alert programs. “There is not one AMBER Alert call that I am not on pins and needles until I know what happened,” said Evans. “It is hard to make incremental changes. I urge you to make your programs better.”

Tracy Perzel, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, also challenged everyone to do more to bring children home safely. “Our job is to pursue those who hurt our children,” she said. “It says a lot about our country if we do not protect our children.”

“The AMBER Alert system is a crucial tool to quickly, loudly and wisely alert the public about the need for help. There is no other way to bring the power of observation from law enforcement and people going about their business,” noted Perzel.

Louisiana Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager and AMBER Alert Coordinator Stacey Pearson summed up the symposium with these words: “The contacts we made these last three days and the relationships we have made will save more children.”

Craig Burge works for the Illinois State Police (ISP). He has been the state AMBER Alert Coordinator and Missing Person Clearinghouse Manager since 2011. He started his career with the ISP working on sex offender registration and management. His experience with providing sex offender information with the legislature and the public prepared him in his mission to promote child safety.

WHAT IS UNIQUE TO YOUR AMBER ALERT PROGRAM, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK HELPS MAKE YOUR PROGRAM SUCCESSFUL?

Our AMBER Alert program is simple and effective. Law enforcement, broadcasters and the public want a program that is easy to comprehend. We have one alerting system with the same criteria since its inception so everybody is familiar with how it works. What makes our program so successful is our AMBER Alert partners and their dedication to child safety. We have an AMBER Alert Task force that is made up of various agencies, entities and associations that really want to help with spreading the word about an abducted child. We have a tremendous relationship with the people at the Illinois Broadcasters Association who dedicate their airwaves for AMBER Alert messages and child abduction safety issues. The support the AMBER Alert program receives from these partners is what makes our program a success.

WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE IN MAINTAINING THE EFFECTIVENESS AND STRENGTH OF YOUR AMBER ALERT PROGRAM?

As the AMBER Alert program evolves, it must grow and change with the times. People are always finding new ways to get their information. The AMBER Alert program must utilize the newest social networks and technologies to provide the public with information through the platforms they are using to access their news and alerts. It is always a challenge to find the appropriate funding and resources necessary to stay on top of the technology advances. Our AMBER Alert program is a privately funded program. No state resources are appropriated for its use. That makes building relationships with private agencies and organizations extremely important.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN WITH YOUR AMBER ALERT PROGRAM IN THE FUTURE? WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE PROGRAM?

I would like to see the AMBER Alert program be connected in every state. I would like to see a day when an AMBER Alert is issued in Illinois, and if we need that Alert to be released in another state, it can be done in a matter of minutes. Child abductions are not bound by geographic borders and neither should AMBER Alerts. The hope is one day all states will be connected to the same system which will allow AMBER Alerts to be sent out seamlessly across state lines. When time is of the essence, we need this quick connection with other states.

PLEASE SHARE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR MOST MEMORABLE AMBER ALERT SUCCESS STORY.

It was September 2012. A 3-week-old child was discovered by a farmer and his wife because they heard the AMBER Alert and decided to go out and look for the child. The child was left on the side of the road in a rural area, but the farmer was able to hear the faint cries of the child as he was driving along in his diesel pickup truck. It is a truly amazing story with an outcome that still brings a smile to my face.

HOW HAVE YOUR CAREER AND LIFE EXPERIENCES, INCLUDING YOUR WORK AS AN AMBER ALERT COORDINATOR, STRENGTHENED YOUR COMMITMENT TO HELPING ENDANGERED, MISSING AND ABDUCTED CHILDREN?

I have been in law enforcement for almost 18 years, mostly dealing with child safety issues. I can tell you there is no better feeling you can have in your law enforcement career than to return a child home safely. It is a feeling that makes everything worth it.

The Tacoma, Washington, Child Abduction Response Team (CART) is breaking new ground by investigating the rapes and murders of two girls that happened three decades ago. Michella Welch, 12, was found shortly after she disappeared on March 26, 1986, in Puget Park. Jennifer Bastian, 13, vanished from a Tacoma park on August 4, 1986, and was found 24 days later.

“I wanted to do something for the 30-year anniversaries and at the same time I knew new information could be released to the public in order to elicit new tips,” said Lindsey Wade, Tacoma Police Cold Case Detective and Assistant CART Coordinator. “These cases are well known in our area and the public is still very interested in solving the cases.”

While an AMBER Alert was not issued, the team held a press conference that received local and national attention. No canvassing or searching was needed, but the CART tip line was activated and a leads management system is being used to manage and prioritize all information. More than 125 tips have come in so far and they are still being received.

Investigators initially believed the same person killed both girls, but DNA evidence later indicated two different suspects were involved. More than 60 members of the CART are investigating new tips and re-interviewing witnesses.

“We just need to know who this person is so we either need to do something or know it is over for him and he can't hurt other people,” said Pattie Bastian in an interview with KING-TV.

Detectives have more than 2,000 possible suspects, with DNA samples collected on more than 100 of them. However, none of the samples have matched a convicted offender, so many of those sampled have been eliminated as suspects.

“Knowing we have two different suspects changed the investigations in many ways,” added Wade. “Many suspects were eliminated previously because they were not available for one of the crimes or because they were in jail or out of the area.”

The CART also used a new type of DNA testing called “phenotyping” that looks for unique or distinguishing traits. This testing makes it possible to predict elements of a person's physical appearance.

Wade suggested other CART programs may want to take on cold cases because it can strengthen skills and build experience for team members while working to bring resolution to a long-term missing case. “Using a cold case for a CART activation also allows the team to work through many of the same challenges they would face during a real-time activation with a slower pace and less stress,” she said.

Working on the cases in conjunction with an important anniversary year also proved to be an effective way to maximize media attention. With such a large response, the team also learned that social media should be carefully monitored because so many people are using the sites to share details about these cases.

In 2013, the Tacoma Police Department CART became the first team certified in Washington State. The CART covers the city of Tacoma and is made up of 12 multidisciplinary agencies. The team has been activated 4 times and team members assisted a neighboring jurisdiction with a child abduction homicide in 2014.

Wade has been with the Tacoma Police Department for 19 years. Her first abduction homicide case involved a 12-year-old girl in 2007. The suspect was arrested 4 days later and he was linked to an unsolved abduction and rape of an 11-year-old girl in 2000. The 1986 Welch and Bastian cases on which the Tacoma CART is working represent two of 156 unsolved homicides and long-term missing person cases in the state.

“I have always been passionate about solving crimes against children,” she said. “I feel they are the worst crimes imaginable, and children are truly innocent victims who deserve professional and dedicated men and women in law enforcement to seek justice for them.”

The U.S. Department of Justice has certified two additional Child Abduction Response Teams (CART). The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in Florida and the Pierce County, Washington, Regional CART are the latest teams to meet the rigorous standards required to join the elite ranks of certified teams across the U.S.

“Support starts at the top,” said Alan Wolochuk, CART Certification Manager. “The total commitment of the sheriff and top law enforcement leaders for both teams set a standard for all CARTs to follow. The citizens in these communities should be very proud of what has been accomplished.”

The CART certification process is very challenging, requiring teams to meet 12 standards and demonstrate proficiencies outlined across 47 sections of the AMBER Alert CART Certification Manual. The CART must conduct a mock child abduction exercise which includes scoring across areas including: CART response and AMBER Alert activation, call-intake procedures, leads management, incident command structure, resource management, information technology, legal issues, victim assistance and reunification.

In Pasco County the mock abduction utilized a mock city named “Safety Town,” a scaled down version of a small city containing a small park, residences, bank, home improvement store, streets, sidewalks and a school. This was the first certification conducted in a facility of this kind.

The mock abduction began at 9 a.m. and involved the witnessed abduction of a 10-year old female. The female was abducted while walking to a school bus stop. A witness called law enforcement and reported the incident.

“We fight as one,” said Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco. “Being part of the CART Certification process was extremely rewarding. It helped validate all the hard work and training we did and continue to do. Preparing for the protection of our children is one of the most important things we can do for our community. No agency can ever truly be ready for an abducted child investigation. However we are committed to being as ready as we can.”

The Pierce County Regional CART had more than 100 participants during the certification process including the sheriff’s department, federal and state investigators, police and fire departments, prosecutors, emergency management and the 911 call center.

The U.S. now has 21 certified Child Abduction Response Teams.

Photo captions: Pasco County CART certification exercise; Tacoma CART certification exercise.

Certification Is Not the End of Training for Child Abduction Response Teams

For Child Abduction Response Teams (CART), achieving certification by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, is just the beginning. Following initial certification, the CART must prepare to meet the criteria for annual recertification every year thereafter.

In January of each year, following the awarding of initial certification, the CART must be able to show completion of specified tasks and required documentation in order to maintain its certified status. Requirements for annual re-certification include:

Absent an actual CART activation, the CART is required to conduct at least one field exercise during the calendar year. The CART is required to provide a summary of each incident to include the date, circumstances of the incident, number of individuals and agencies activated, outcome and lessons learned and changes made to policy, practice, use of resources or personnel deployment or other significant changes to the CART.
Document any changes to personnel, CART leadership, participating agencies, resources and any significant changes to the CART.
Verify the CART remains in compliance with all applicable standards and certification requirements.

The required recertification forms must be signed by the CART Coordinator and CEO of the lead agency, certifying the accuracy of the information provided. The documentation is forwarded to the CART Program Director during the first quarter of each year following certification. Once reviewed and approved, the CART is notified of its recertification status.

Portrait of Bill Bryan standing in front of the U.S. flag — Bill Bryan

Bill Bryan was always soft-spoken but his efforts with the AMBER Alert Training & Technical Assistance Program communicated volumes about his commitment to recovering abducted children. Bryan started working for the program in January 2005 and retired July 2013.

“There are many fond memories from my days with the AMBER Alert Program,” said Bryan. “The one thing that, of course, stands out the most is the wonderful relationships that were developed over the years.”

Bryan started as a consultant and helped develop the Investigative Strategies for Missing and Abducted Children (ISMAC), Leadership for Missing and Abducted Children (LMAC) and Basic Forensic Response to Missing and Abducted Children courses. In 2006 he became a program manager, and those programs and others started being offered on a regional basis about ten times a year.

“There was a shift from regional programs to onsite technical assistance programs which are more cost effective and allowed the programs to reach more people,” added Bryan. “Many of those early technical assistance programs were run in Indian Country and were very well received there.”

Bryan also took on additional duties including instructor coordination, consultant supervisor, onsite facilitation, curriculum review, coordination of case study development and coordination of the annual AMBER Alert award program.

“A friend and colleague for more than 36 years, Bill is dedicated to a common mission of working together and doing things right; and respecting others with the highest of regards,” said Phil Keith, AMBER Alert Training & Technical Assistance Program Director.

“Personally, I am grateful for the help Bill gave me in refining our AMBER Alert Plan,” said former Utah AMBER Alert Coordinator Paul Murphy. “He identified strengths and weaknesses and made suggestions that helped improve our plan.”

Bryan is now Deputy Secretary with the North Carolina Department of Administration where his responsibility includes issues involving women, human relations, Indian Affairs and youth advocacy. “Many of my AMBER experiences have served me well in this new position and I continue to stay involved in issues involving child protection and the prevention of human trafficking,” said Bryan.

Casey Jo Pipestem excelled at basketball and poetry in high school and was known for her lanky build and big smile. But the Native American teen was shuffled from home to home because her mother was attempting to get out of a difficult relationship.

She started running away and later began trading sex for drugs at truck stops near Oklahoma City. Casey was only 19 when her body was found after being tossed from a bridge. Authorities believe she had been murdered by an “Interstate” serial killer.

Pipestem's story was just one shared at the Child Protection in Indian Country Meeting to show that Native American children may be the most vulnerable of all children when they are missing.

The meeting held May 7-8, 2013, in Jacksonville, Florida, included law enforcement representatives from 19 Tribes residing in eight states. Organizers hope the training will help end what was called an “epidemic” of missing and runaway children from Tribal communities.

Jim Walters, the Native American liaison for the AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program, shared that Native American children have the highest levels of runaway and thrownaway children of any ethnic group. “They typically leave their homes and support systems for urban areas,” said Walters. “They are also less likely to have access to positive resources to help them while they are away.”

When Native American children end up in a placement shelter or foster home, Walters said they are often placed with people outside their race and they are twice as likely to run away. “Native American boys are five times more likely to run away from placement than Caucasian boys,” he added.

Why do they run? Participants offered some possible factors, including children moving from house to house when their parents are not around, a belief that a better life can be found away from home, a belief that the home has overly restrictive rules, physical or sexual abuse, drug and alcohol use by parents, teens and peers, and poverty and hopelessness.

Janet Draper is a police officer and the director of Children and Family Services for the Potawatomi Nation. She said checkerboard jurisdictions in Tribal communities also create problems for placing a child. “State agencies make it difficult when they take a child into custody and they do not notify us or the tribe,” she said. “Once we are notified we transfer the case to the tribe and start over.”

Presenters noted that people living outside Tribal lands often do not understand the culture or Indian Child Welfare laws. Also, some communities do not have the needed resources and infrastructure or a centralized source of reporting for cases involving children.

Unique Dangers for Native American Women and Girls

Indigenous women have been exploited since the first Europeans came to America. Today studies show that Native American women and girls are significantly overrepresented in the sex trade industry.

An analysis of 2007 prostitution arrest data in the county encompassing Minneapolis found that 24% of arrests involved Native American women, more than 12 times their representation in the county's population. Other studies found similar results in Washington, Oregon and Montana.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did the largest study ever done on family violence and found that 39% of Native American women were victims of intimate partner violence, the highest rate for all ethnic groups.

Other studies found that Native American women have the highest rate of sexual assault and rape: 7.7 per 1,000 women versus 1.5 for African American women, 1.1 for White women, 0.6 for Hispanic women and 0.2 for Asian women.

Team Approach

Participants learned that a team approach is capable of making a big difference in protecting Native American children. Child Abduction Response Teams (CART) can be developed in Tribal communities to respond with the needed resources and expertise to handle missing and abducted child cases. An Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force can be used to protect children from online predators.

Some Tribes have already implemented Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDT) or Child Protection Teams (CPT) made up of representatives from law enforcement, social services, schools, health, courts, and elders. These teams are responsible for prevention, intervention, investigations and aftercare for children.

Native Americans have strong beliefs about family relationships and extended families. Some Tribal communities have been able to reduce the number of runaways by placing a child with other family members or even with families from the same Tribe. Successful programs also helped in cultural immersion, mentoring, and community service. The ultimate goal is to make sure Native American children are protected and those who prey on children are aggressively prosecuted.

Hugh Emerson Munn, who passed away October 19, 2012, in Columbia, South Carolina, is remembered for his bridge-building efforts that improved the AMBER Alert Program.

Munn developed innovative ways to provide AMBER Alert training to thousands of broadcasters and law enforcement officers at the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

“A pioneer in bridging the gap between law enforcement and the media, Hugh understood the perspectives of both but insisted both must focus on children. Hugh made an incredible impact and left a lasting legacy for others to follow in his footsteps of protecting children,” said Phil Keith, AMBER Alert Training & Technical Assistance Program Director.

Munn was a longtime journalist when he became the first public information officer for the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division in 1979.

He served in that capacity for 26 years before going to the University of South Carolina. Munn was 70 years old and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Former Iowa AMBER Alert Coordinator Todd Misel helped set up the statewide child abduction alert system in 2003. He has been involved with every AMBER Alert in the state or been given a heads up an alert was about to go out. At least that was the case until 8:18 a.m., November 27, 2010, when he and everyone who had signed up for Iowa AMBER Alerts by e-mail received this message: “The AMBER Alert status has been set to IN PROGRESS!”

“I got the e-mail message, and no one had contacted me. I thought, ‘What’s up with that?'” said Misel, who is also a Captain with the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s State Patrol Division.

The message directed recipients to a website that still had information on a February AMBER Alert for a teenage girl that had been cancelled because she had been safely recovered.

It was the first time a hacker had broken into the newly automated Iowa AMBER Alert Plan website. It also may have been the first time in the nation that a hacker issued an AMBER Alert. Five minutes later, Misel received another e-mail that the hacker also apparently sent: “The AMBER Alert has ended.”

Iowa’s notification system was set up nearly four years ago; Iowa uses the original National Crime Information Center (NCIC) missing child entry as the trigger for its AMBER Plan. AMBER Alert information entered into the IOWA system/NCIC automatically posts to the Iowa Website and triggers e-mail notifications to thousands of people who registered to receive the alerts. The system was automated to avoid human error, but the Website proved to be vulnerable to someone intent on hacking into the system.

“We were embarrassed,” said Misel. “It is like having someone break into your home. You feel violated, not only as an individual, but for the sanctity of the AMBER Alert system.”

The good news is the AMBER Alert did not go out through the other means of notification. The Emergency Alert System was not activated, highway signs did not post the alerts, and the Iowa Lottery did not issue lottery tickets with the alerts. The media reported on the breach but did not broadcast an AMBER Alert.

Two days later, the Iowa Department of Public Safety launched a criminal investigation to find the hacker and solicited help from the FBI and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. ICAC investigators were involved because of their computer investigative skills, and the crime directly affected the safety of Iowa children.

Iowa’s AMBER Alert partners also went back to find out what went wrong with the Website and take steps to ensure it would not happen again. The Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Iowa Department of Administrative Services Information Technology Enterprise, which oversees the Website, quickly instituted new safety measures to prevent another breach. They also put together a list of lessons learned for others with automated AMBER Alert plans:

Document training and practice the AMBER Alert notification procedure.
Develop a backup plan so the AMBER Alert will go out even if the website is down.
Clarify ownership and responsibilities of the website application with the service provider through a Service Level Agreement.
Have a process in place to build security into the website application from the beginning to end.
Scan the application and review the source code prior to deployment and during production.
Develop and implement regular monthly or quarterly security scans of the application.
Have a communications plan in place. One spokesperson should be available to speak with the media and all state agencies and partners.
Have a script prepared for individuals who the media may contact that directs them to the single point of contact.
Hold a daily internal briefing or conference call to discuss any issues so you can control the message and keep information consistent.

“Automation of the AMBER Alert Website is great, but make sure there are checks and balances in place,” added Misel. “There is an expectation from the public that you will be able to continue AMBER Alert operations, even when your internal systems are compromised.”

On January 12, 2011, AMBER Alert, the most effective tool to save abducted children, teamed up with Facebook, the most successful social network in history, to save abducted children.

AMBER Alert suddenly has lots of new friends. Facebook has begun posting AMBER Alerts that more than 750 million users worldwide—more than 130 million of them in the U.S.—can view.

Facebook worked with the Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to create a main AMBER Alert page and 53 additional pages for the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.

"AMBER Alerts depend on partnerships between public and private entities to get the word out when a child goes missing," said Laurie O. Robinson, Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice Programs and National AMBER Alert Coordinator. "Social networking has few boundaries, and now AMBER Alerts will benefit from that nearly limitless reach."

NCMEC posts the initial alerts, updates, and cancellations for each geographical area. Facebook users can sign up to receive the alerts in their area by simply becoming a friend. Those friends can then post the alerts and send them to others.

"We know time is the enemy in the search for abducted children, and people on Facebook will allow the alerts to become viral, not just in local jurisdictions, but across the country and around the world," said Ernie Allen, NCMEC President and CEO. "It is free, and it is going to save lives."

The AMBER Alert sites do not contain any advertising, and Facebook users cannot post comments on the state pages. This plan will ensure that the only information about the AMBER Alert will come from the law enforcement agency that issued the alert. Once the alert is canceled, Facebook removes the post from all sites so users will not search for a child who has already been found.

Facebook also donated more than 25 million advertising impressions to promote the AMBER Alert pages. Just 5 months after the launch, the main AMBER Alert page has over 60,000 friends and nearly 500,000 people view the site each week. The vast majority of the people using the site are from the United States, but it has attracted friends from 18 other countries as far away as India, Turkey, and Malaysia.

"Facebook is more than a social network, it is one of the largest communication platforms," said Chris Sonderby, Facebook Lead Security and Investigations Counsel. "The more people who participate, the better. It is a small step that can make a big difference in the life of a child."

The main page has a link to each of the state pages and has become a community bulletin board for the AMBER Alert Program and efforts to find abducted children. Within minutes after a new post goes up on the main AMBER Alert page, tens of thousands of people can view the site and post comments. Here is a sampling of some of the comments made shortly after the launch:

"It will be amazing what Facebook can do for AMBER Alert. It is national and fast and gives more info than just people and vehicles. We will be asking 'Why did we take so long?'"

"It is the best example of how the Internet can be a useful tool."

"This is right on time. AMERICA unite; find these missing children!!!"

"My heart breaks and my stomach gets knots every time I hear an AMBER Alert. However, when a child is located and saved, the joy is AMAZING! What a great tool to help protect our children and unite us in the fight."

"I cannot wait to start hearing the success stories of children being found through Facebook!"

Col. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent, spoke at the Facebook/AMBER Alert launch on how his state has already used the social network to find an abducted child. On December 6, 2010, the Roanoke (Virginia) Police Department issued an AMBER Alert for a 12-year-old girl who had been abducted after her mother was murdered. The alert was posted on the Virginia State Police Facebook page, and the story picked up national attention. Five days later, a woman recognized the victim from a television story, and the girl was recovered safely in San Francisco.

"We would have not had as many leads without our Facebook fans," said Flaherty. "Social media enabled law enforcement to reach beyond our borders to find this 12-year-old girl. Her search started with an AMBER Alert and spread because of social media and traditional media. I can only imagine or dream what we can do now."

On January 15, Facebook posted its first AMBER Alert for a 13-year-old Columbus, Missouri, girl. More than 63,000 people viewed the original post, and the girl was found the following day in Jasper, Alabama.

Julie Fisher believes Facebook has the potential to save many children. The Massachusetts mother regularly posts updates on AMBER Alerts across the country. She also encourages others to sign up for the alerts in their own states.

"I just want this to be a safer world for everyone, especially children," said Fisher. "Facebook is a great way to spread the alerts because even if you are not in the area of the alert, a friend, or a friend of a friend may cross their path. What better use of networking is there? Someone may be in the right place at the right time and save a life."

What's on the National AMBER Alert Facebook page:

Links to state AMBER pages
Current AMBER Alert news
AMBER Advocate Editions
Hundreds of millions of potential people who can help find a missing child

What's on the State AMBER Alert Facebook pages:

Current active AMBER Alerts automatically issued by NCMEC
A local network of concerned citizens eager to help in the recovery of a child

Panel discussion during Alerta AMBER meeting in Mexico City — Mexico plans to have a fully operational nationwide AMBER Alert Program by early 2012.

Mexico is now fully committed to the AMBER Alert Program. Top Mexican law enforcement and government officials announced on April 28, 2011, in Mexico City that a national protocol and implementation of Alerta AMBER for the entire country.

The Attorney General's Office will oversee Mexico's AMBER Alert Program with support from the Public Safety Ministry and the National Registry of Missing Persons. The plan will create a network between law enforcement, government officials, and the media to immediately notify the public when a child has been abducted.

"It is necessary to establish coordination, maximize the use of technology, and provide training to those responsible for operating the AMBER Alert in each of the states," said Francisco Blake Mora, Mexico's Secretary of the Interior.

The Mexican House of Representatives is already considering legislation to strengthen and expand the AMBER Alert Program. Rep. Arturo Zamora Jiménez presented an amendment to make the program part of the Mexican legal code.

"This is an act of utmost importance to protect the interests of minors," said Rep. Zamora Jiménez. "We need to commit our country to protecting the rights of children and adolescents and stopping crimes involving Mexican children."

In 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice began the Southern Border Initiative to extend the AMBER Alert Program into Mexico. Baja California launched the first AMBER Alert Program in Mexico in 2009. Tamaulipas, Nuevo Léon, and Sonora are also developing AMBER Alert programs, and Chihuahua has a child abduction alert plan that uses a different name.

OJJDP Program Manager Cecilia Duquela has worked with Fox Valley Technical College for the past five years to make this dream a reality. "Obviously, I'm very proud and excited about this partnership with Mexico to rescue children and bring them home," said Duquela.

She said federal law enforcement agencies and state attorneys general offices were on board since the beginning. "The best way to describe it is engaged," she said. "They are committed to bringing AMBER Alerts into their states."

Mexico plans to have a fully operational nationwide AMBER Alert Program by early 2012.

According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, nearly 400 American children have been recovered in Mexico. "Obviously, you want to make all the resources and tools available to keep all children safe, but this will bring more U.S. children home," added Duquela.

Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk behind a podium — Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk

An unprecedented gathering of more than 175 Tribal representatives from 54 Tribes and 20 states took place in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, to develop a multiagency approach to protecting Native American children. The National Symposium on Child Protection in Indian Country was held March 9-11, 2010, to confront faltering graduation rates and increased incidents of suicide, rape, child abuse, and abduction.

“We need to stop the rising crime rate, especially against women and children,” said Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk, a member of the Pawnee Nation. “The real agenda is to empower tribal governments so they can govern their own people. We need to teach parents about parenting skills so children are safe in their homes.”

The Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention sponsored the symposium as part of the AMBER in Indian Country Initiative (AIIC). The initiative was recently expanded to address the following challenges:

Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation
Runaway and Thrownaway Children
Family Violence

AIIC is now offering additional training concerning high-risk runaways, including Native American trackers, bloodhounds and Tribal border issues. “The idea is to create the same level of service and safe return of children in Native American Communities as what is found in any other community,” said AIIC Liaison Jim Walters. “We always wanted a voice for children in Indian Country.”

Gena Tyner-Dawson, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Attorney General for Tribal Affairs, announced that more grants are available to help tribes protect children. “We want to improve public safety, reduce alcohol crimes, create correctional facilities, provide more assistance to sexual assault victims, reach out to victims of elder abuse and prevent juvenile delinquency,” said Tyner-Dawson. “We have one goal: to improve public safety in Tribal communities.”

U.S. Attorney for New Mexico Greg Fouratt encouraged law enforcement leaders to become involved in the lives of children so they will be trusted when a crime is committed. “We have to introduce ourselves to kids before they ever meet a prosecutor, judge or jury,” said Fouratt. “They desperately need our help.”

Native American Children’s Alliance Executive Director Linda Logan shared that she was a victim of child sexual abuse, as was her mother, grandmother and two sisters. She also identified ways to stop Indian children from being abused. “Tribal leaders need to acknowledge family abuse is a problem,” said Logan. “We also need to hold offenders accountable in a way that is fair, swift and sure.”

Under federal law, the maximum penalty for child abuse in Indian Country is one year in jail and a $5,000 fine. “What we are doing now is not working,” said Jerry Wiseman-Foley, a Tribal prosecutor in Oklahoma. “We need to look at our own ways to address what is going on with our people.”

Indian Pueblo Council Chairman Joe Garcia said the problems will not be addressed unless Tribes, states, and the federal government work together. “We cannot do it alone,” said Garcia. “People must work together or we won’t make a dent in the system.”

Representatives from the Native American Community Academy (NACA) and the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) also participated in the symposium to help in their advocacy work for Tribal communities and children.

Victim Kaelin Glazier, left, and suspect William Frank Simmons, right

Detectives say the AMBER Alert training they received played a pivotal role in making an arrest in an Oregon child homicide case that happened nearly 14 years ago. The Jackson County, Oregon, Sheriff's Office arrested William Frank Simmons on April 7, 2010, for the November 1996 murder of Kaelin Rose Glazier.

Simmons was indicted by a Grand Jury and arrested exactly 2 years after Glazier's remains were found 78 feet from Simmons' home. Once the skeletal remains were found, detectives said they relied on the AMBER Alert training they had just received from the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) through Fox Valley Technical College.

"We are passionate about AMBER Alert training," said Det. Sgt. Colin Fagan, Jackson County Sheriff's Office. "When we found her remains, we had a better idea of what we needed to do to move the case forward. We knew we had one opportunity to get this right and the AMBER Alert training gave us the awareness and the tools to take the case to the Grand Jury and make an arrest."

Fagan had attended training on how to develop a Child Abduction Response Team (CART) when he saw an age-progressed picture of Kaelin Glazier. The course also included a case study presentation by Sergeant Mark Simpson (Retired) about his investigation into the 1996 abduction and murder of Amber Hagerman, the 9-year-old whose death prompted the creation of the AMBER Alert program.

Fagan and a colleague were impressed by the quality of the training and soon the sheriff's office was sending their detectives and crime analysts to every AMBER Alert course on missing and abducted children offered by the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is also changing its policies and procedures for missing and abducted children.

"The Jackson County Sheriff's Office should be commended for taking what they learned and bringing closure to a tragic murder," said Simpson, "It clearly demonstrates that the effort we put into training is extremely worthwhile."

The Jackson County Sheriff's Department also asked Simpson for advice to help with its newly ramped up investigation into Glazier's death. Simpson was given complete access to the case files so he could train other detectives about lessons learned during the investigation. "We consider Mark a member of the team and we consulted with him to draw from his deep well of experience," said Fagan.

The teamwork paid off when detectives finally had enough evidence to present their findings to the Grand Jury. "They put a lot of effort and sweat equity into the investigation," added Simpson. "I'm proud to have had this unique opportunity to work with these detectives and be associated with them."

At the 2009 National AMBER Alert Symposium, family members of child abduction victims held a candlelight vigil for all victims. A large crowd joined more than 40 family members as they offered a prayer, sang songs, and lit a candle to expose the dark crimes committed against children.

“The life of every child in America is important, and as a nation, we must make the needed changes so no one will ever lose a child again,” said Ed Smart, father of Elizabeth Smart.

The vigil was prompted by the recent news of 7-year-old Somer Thompson, a Florida girl who was discovered in a Georgia landfill 2 days after she was discovered missing, and 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, who was abducted and murdered on October 21, 2009, in Missouri.

“We are surviving parents, and this is our job: to fight for laws and make sure programs are funded and doing what is needed to protect children,” says Mark Lunsford, father of Jessica Lunsford. “God speed the healing these families will need to go through and God's strength in their fight to protect them.”

Many of the family members are also members of the Surviving Parent's Coalition, a not-for-profit organization founded in 2008 to advocate for legislation that will aid in the prevention of crimes against children and young people, especially child sexual abuse, sexual assault, exploitation, and murder.

Erin Runnion, mother of Samantha Runnion, added, “We aim to raise awareness and determination among parents everywhere to honor these children by taking pro-active action to educate and empower our children and parents so that not one more child is victimized.”

The symposium included the largest gathering ever of family members for the Family Roundtable, which provides a platform for family members to share their personal and often painful experiences. The roundtable presented their findings to the symposium on how they believe child abduction cases can be handled better, including securing the home quickly to protect evidence and interviewing all potential suspects as soon as possible, inviting Child Abduction Response Teams (CARTs) to help in the case and making sure a victim advocate is part of the team, considering the impact on the family before deciding on the location of the Command Post, using tracking dogs when possible to help in the search, having an Endangered Missing Advisory plan in place for cases that do not meet the AMBER Alert criteria and providing an explanation to families when an AMBER Alert is not used, preparing family members for the media and helping them keep the child's case in the public eye, using care when notifying family members when a child has been recovered, and educating prosecutors, judges, and victim's advocates on the AMBER Alert so they can understand the issues of a victim and their family.

Family members have also been working to create a linear model that breaks down each child abduction case to 19 components. The model will be used to train law enforcement in the future.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mary Lou Leary thanked the family members for sharing their experiences during the roundtable. “What I learned during that time is that I can never really know how people feel,” said Leary. “I can only tell you that I respect your feelings and your courage for this noble purpose.”

The pilot program to bring AMBER Alerts into Indian Country has taken wings. The AMBER Alert in Indian Country initiative began with ten Tribal sites but now other Tribes are getting training in order to create their own child abduction alert plans.

For the first time the 2009 National AMBER Alert Symposium provided training sessions for Tribal representatives who are not part of the pilot program.

“It is quite remarkable that the Tribes are so far ahead of so many states considering they had to start their programs from scratch,” noted AMBER Alert in Indian Country Liaison Jim Walters.

The goal for the pilot sites is to have a working AMBER Alert program by July 2010. Some of the tribes reported that they were running into roadblocks with their plans because of political interference or lack of support from Tribal leaders. Walters said educating the public about AMBER Alerts will help. “If the people speak loudly enough that they want a program, the political desire will follow.”

Tribal leaders are also taking an active role in the Southern Border Initiative because many of the Tribal lands are on the U.S.-Mexico border. More training will be held to create lines of communication between Tribal and Mexican law enforcement officials.

The Native American representatives also tackled the issue of runaway and “thrownaway” children. Approximately 40,000 runaways and thrownaways, mostly girls, come from Indian communities each year.

Native American children typically leave their homes for urban areas and are not accustomed to the cultural differences. Jurisdiction issues also present challenges in trying to protect children.

Some of the Indian communities have developed multidisciplinary teams to prevent and intervene in child abductions and to recover children. The teams include representatives from law enforcement, social services, schools, judges, and Tribal elders. Many of the children have been helped because of the Indian culture's strong belief in family relationships and extended families.

‘Not Afraid’

AIIC Associate Jen Murphy helped produce an award-winning short film that turns a lens on the MMIP/MMIW crisis.

Get the Facts About MMIP / MMIWG

Moved to Act: AIIC Team Participates in Ashlynne Mike, MMIWG Events

Walking the Walk for Ashlynne Mike & MMIP/MMIWG Awareness

AIIC Training & Resources Highlighted in Nevada

Sweet Memory: A Maryland State Trooper’s Compassion

CART on Camera: Burlington County, New Jersey

WHAT IS UNIQUE TO YOUR MISSING PERSONS PROGRAM, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK HELPS MAKE YOUR PROGRAM SUCCESSFUL?

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO FIND MISSING AND ABDUCTED CHILDREN?

WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE IN MAINTAINING THE EFFECTIVENESS AND STRENGTH OF YOUR AMBER ALERT AND MISSING PERSON PROGRAMS?

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN WITH YOUR AMBER ALERT AND OTHER PROGRAMS IN THE FUTURE?

PLEASE SHARE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR MOST MEMORABLE SUCCESS STORY IN WORKING A MISSING CHILD CASE. HOW DID THE AMBER ALERT AND CENTER FOR MISSING PERSONS SUPPORT THE OUTCOME?

HOW HAVE YOUR CAREER AND LIFE EXPERIENCES, INCLUDING YOUR WORK AS AN AMBER ALERT COORDINATOR AND/OR CLEARINGHOUSE MANAGER, STRENGTHENED YOUR COMMITMENT TO HELPING ENDANGERED, MISSING AND ABDUCTED CHILDREN?

HOW HAS TRAINING HELPED YOU IN AMBER ALERT CASES?

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER AMBER ALERT PARTNERS?

WHAT IS UNIQUE TO YOUR AMBER ALERT PROGRAM AND WHAT DO YOU THINK HELPS MAKE IT SUCCESSFUL?

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO FIND MISSING AND ABDUCTED CHILDREN?

WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE IN MAINTAINING THE EFFECTIVENESS AND STRENGTH OF YOUR AMBER ALERT PROGRAM?

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN WITH YOUR AMBER ALERT PROGRAM IN THE FUTURE? WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE PROGRAM?

PLEASE SHARE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR MOST MEMORABLE SUCCESS STORY IN WORKING A MISSING CHILD CASE. HOW DID THE AMBER ALERT SUPPORT THE OUTCOME? WHAT WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS LEARNED?

HOW HAVE YOUR CAREER AND LIFE EXPERIENCES, INCLUDING YOUR WORK AS AN AMBER ALERT COORDINATOR, STRENGTHENED YOUR COMMITMENT TO HELPING ENDANGERED MISSING AND ABDUCTED CHILDREN?

HOW HAS TRAINING HELPED YOU IN AMBER ALERT CASES?

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER AMBER ALERT PARTNERS?

PUERTO RICO GETS MISSING CHILDREN TRAINING BEFORE HURRICANES HIT

U.S. AND MEXICO LEARN TOGETHER ABOUT CROSS BORDER ABDUCTIONS

PROTECTING OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS COMMUNITY WORKSHOP: COMMUNITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT COME TOGETHER IN DALLAS

“AWESOME OTTO” SHOWS HOW K9S CAN HELP CHILD ABUSE VICTIMS

HOW HAVE YOUR CAREER AND LIFE EXPERIENCES, INCLUDING YOUR WORK AS AN AMBER ALERT COORDINATOR AND CLEARINGHOUSE MANAGER, STRENGTHENED YOUR COMMITMENT TO HELPING ENDANGERED, MISSING AND ABDUCTED CHILDREN?

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR AMBER ALERT AND CLEARINGHOUSE PROGRAM, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK HELPS MAKE YOUR PROGRAMS SUCCESSFUL?

WHAT IS YOUR VISION AND WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN WITH YOUR AMBER ALERT AND CLEARINGHOUSE PROGRAMS IN THE FUTURE?

PLEASE SHARE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR MOST MEMORABLE SUCCESS STORY IN WORKING A MISSING CHILD CASE.

CHALLENGES IN INDIAN COUNTRY

What is unique to your AMBER Alert and Clearinghouse program, and what do you think helps make your programs successful?

What challenges do you face in maintaining the effectiveness and strength of your AMBER Alert and Clearinghouse programs?

What would you like to see happen with your AMBER Alert and Clearinghouse programs in the future? What is your vision for the programs?

Please share details about your most memorable success story in working a missing child case. How did the AMBER Alert and operations of the Clearinghouse support the outcomes? What were the most important lessons learned?

How have your career and life experiences, including your work as an AMBER Alert Coordinator and Clearinghouse Manager, strengthened your commitment to helping endangered, missing and abducted children?

Patty Wetterling Challenges AMBER Alert Partners to Never Give Up Hope

Five Year Reunion

New in 2017

The Big Picture

WHAT IS UNIQUE TO YOUR AMBER ALERT PROGRAM, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK HELPS MAKE YOUR PROGRAM SUCCESSFUL?

WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE IN MAINTAINING THE EFFECTIVENESS AND STRENGTH OF YOUR AMBER ALERT PROGRAM?

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN WITH YOUR AMBER ALERT PROGRAM IN THE FUTURE? WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE PROGRAM?

PLEASE SHARE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR MOST MEMORABLE AMBER ALERT SUCCESS STORY.

HOW HAVE YOUR CAREER AND LIFE EXPERIENCES, INCLUDING YOUR WORK AS AN AMBER ALERT COORDINATOR, STRENGTHENED YOUR COMMITMENT TO HELPING ENDANGERED, MISSING AND ABDUCTED CHILDREN?

Certification Is Not the End of Training for Child Abduction Response Teams

Unique Dangers for Native American Women and Girls

Team Approach

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