The aunt of a missing child has started an online petition to broaden Iowa’s AMBER Alert criteria. Michelle Harrelson has gathered more than 3,000 signatures on Change.org after Xavior Harrelson went missing on May 27, 2021. Authorities said the situation did not qualify for an AMBER Alert. Harrelson plans to approach lawmakers about her proposed changes in January.
Some Nebraska legislators would like Silver Alerts to be issued for missing children with disabilities. The alerts are voluntarily shared on TV and radio for disabled adults who wander from their home without assistance. Iowa Representative Sharon Negele said Silver Alerts have helped recover 88 percent of missing persons between 2013 and 2017. She said the same protection should be provided for children.
Iowa State Trooper and longtime advocate for the AMBER Alert Todd Misel has retired after a 34-year career in law enforcement. Misel was part of a group that created Iowa's AMBER Alert program in 2003. Iowa's governor told the group he wanted the alert up and running soon. “He brought it up at the state fair and gave us 90 days to put it together and figure it out,” said Misel. “It was an extremely aggressive time line but we had something by early spring of the (following) year.” Misel has also worked with the AMBER Alert Training & Technical Program for more than a decade.
The Jefferson County Chiefs and Sheriff Association in Wisconsin recognized an Iowa man as the “2015 Citizen of the Year” after hearing an AMBER Alert and helping officers safely recover a 3-year-old Milwaukee girl. Authorities said a 32-year-old man forced the girl’s mother out of her car and drove off with the child still inside. Paul D. Smith was sitting in his hotel room when he saw the AMBER Alert on TV. He went out to the hotel parking lot and discovered the missing vehicle and called the sheriff’s department. Deputies arrested the suspect after he tried to flee his hotel room.
“My dad always said we are put on this earth to help one another and I try and honor him by doing that every time I get a chance,” said Smith at the awards ceremony. “I am so grateful and humbled that I was able to do that in your community and, with law enforcement, we were able to return a child to her home.”