Morrissa Ahl-Moyer – AMBER Advocate

By Jody Garlock

Fred Rogers’ famous advice to “look for the helpers”—intended to steer children toward safety in times of chaos or tragedy—has endured for decades. And Morrissa Ahl-Moyer definitely falls into the category of a helper. Her 20-plus years in public safety took her from being a volunteer first responder, to a 911 telecommunicator, and now, Director and Clearinghouse Manager of the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons (NCCMP), a division of the state’s Department of Public Safety based in Cary. The NCCMP receives more than 10,000 missing persons reports annually.

“I’ve always been a helper of sorts with my career choices,” says Ahl-Moyer, whose job includes being North Carolina’s AMBER Alert Coordinator (AAC). “For me now, it’s getting to make sure troopers and dispatchers have what they need.”

Since stepping into her role in June 2023, Ahl-Moyer has stepped up NCCMP’s training, including working with law enforcement authorities to ensure they understand the state’s AMBER Alert process and the online portal.

Her outreach during her first year on the job included hosting a missing persons resources class in her hometown of Dunn, North Carolina, where she started as an EMT. To her surprise, more than 200 officers and public safety personnel showed up for the event.

“It confirmed I was on the right track,” Ahl-Moyer says. “It’s training we need, and we need to do more of it.”

That message is something she champions whether she’s training law enforcement or participating in or attending state and national conferences.

We caught up with Ahl-Moyer when she was in another form of helper mode: voluntarily working night shifts at a communication center to lessen the load on 911 telecommunicators handling calls after Hurricane Helene’s destruction in western North Carolina.

Telecommunicators tend to be overlooked in the [AMBER Alert] decision-making process, but they can be the best source of information. They’re truly the ‘first’ first responders—the ones who get the initial call when a child goes missing. And often they have the knowledge to say, ‘Hey this might fit the criteria for an AMBER Alert.’

Morrissa Ahl-Moyer Director/Clearinghouse Manager, North Carolina Center for Missing Persons

How does having 911 telecommunicator experience inform your AMBER Alert Coordinator (ACC) work?
As a telecommunicator who answered after-hours calls for NCCMP, I had a basic knowledge of how the alert process worked, the criteria, and the information needed before we contacted the AMBER Alert Coordinator for approval. I also recognized a knowledge gap. Most of the agencies had never requested an AMBER Alert before and weren’t sure of the process. This was further exacerbated when there was a transition from faxing forms to an online portal. I’ve been working to ensure everyone knows how the process works.

How do you help people understand AMBER Alerts and other endangered missing advisories?
Training is everything. It’s vital in our line of work. That’s why I’ve conducted sessions at symposiums, the state’s 911 Conference, local law enforcement agencies, communication centers, and more. Doing so gets important information out to those who need it the most. I go over the basic criteria for issuing an AMBER Alert and give them an overview of the process. Beyond discussing the essentials, getting out and meeting people gives me the chance to say, “Here’s my cell phone number. Even if you think a case doesn’t meet our AMBER Alert criteria, let’s talk about it.”

After transitioning from 911 to ACC did you experience any challenges?
Understanding the technical side of IPAWS [Integrated Public Alert & Warning System] was an initial hurdle. Luckily, one of the on-call team members is a guru and has helped me learn more about it. In my previous role, we would only do the EAS [Emergency Alert System]—and we were done. I’ve now realized that it’s so much deeper than that. I’m still learning it all.

What’s new with NCCMP in terms of projects you’re working on?
One project is that we’re in the building phase of a missing child repository. It will update weekly from the NCIC [National Crime Information Center] files, but it also gives me the option of real-time manual entry. If a missing child doesn’t meet AMBER Alert criteria, I can put the word out and it will send a media notification. It will increase awareness when every minute matters. It’s a first for our state, and I’m excited about it.

What issues regarding missing children concern you the most?
Human trafficking is a major problem. I really was blinded to it before coming into this role. It’s scary to see how easy it can be to end up in trouble, especially when there are so many at-risk young people across the nation. Online enticement is another growing concern. I’m also seeing that 15-year-old minority females are reported missing more than any other demographic, which needs more of our research and understanding.

Calling All 911 Telecommunicators

AATTAP’s course, 911 Telecommunicators and Missing & Abducted Children (“911 T-MAC,” for short) is essential not only for law enforcement and public safety telecommunicators but also for any members of law enforcement and support staff who address public calls for help.

The interactive training session equips 911 telecommunicators with needed skills and resources by:

Analyzing real cases to recognize various types of missing child incidents and how they are reported.
Exploring optimal practices using systems and standards from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO ANS 1.101.4-2022).
Addressing resilience-building strategies to cope with emotionally demanding cases.

The course represents a full update of AATTAP’s “Telecommunications Best Practices for Missing and Abducted Children” (TELMAC) class, which launched in 2010 as both a classroom offering and as a self-paced online class.

The 911 T-MAC class launched this past fall in Appleton, Wisconsin, where more than 60 telecommunicators from around the country attended the pilot training session.

“The amount of information presented during the class was perfect,” one participant said. “It was all presented in a way that wasn’t overwhelming, but engaging and easy to understand.”

The class will be offered in person and online starting this spring. Watch for training opportunities at bit.ly/911tmac.

The software assigns a unique three-word “address” to each 10-foot by 10-foot grid within a location observed by satellite.

What is what3words?
The a satellite-powered digital geocoding system—available free for first responders and as an iOS or Android app–helps identify precise locations. It has decided the world into a grid of 57 trillion 10-foot by 10-foot squares, and given each square a unique combination of three random words. Each three-word “address” lets emergency responders pinpoint a cellphone caller’s GPS coordinates–even in sprawling national parks and large bodies of water. All that is needed is a cellular signal and a smartphone with “location service” enabled.

What U.S. law enforcement agencies are using it—and how?
More than 400 public safety teams (including police departments in Dallas and Los Angeles) across 49 U.S. states are using what3words technology to locate people. The software is compatible with many CAD systems and public safety communication tools, including RapidSOS, Rapid Deploy, and other software partners.

How can it help find children?
For a law enforcement agency equipped with what3words technology, any child or endangered adult who calls can be found within minutes if they call 911 from a location-service enabled cellphone. This is especially helpful if an individual does not know where they are—which often is the case if they have been transported to an unknown location.

Who created it?
The technology—developed in 2013 by Chris Sheldrick in the United Kingdom in 2013—was created to solve issues caused by poor addressing across all sectors, including automotive, e-commerce, emergency, travel and logistics.

Is using what3words more accurate than cellphone pinging?
The use of what3words is not meant to replace the analysis of cellphone geolocation data, which can paint a fuller picture of where a missing child (or a suspected abductor) has been and may be headed. Its advantage lies in being able to narrow a search to 10 feet, which is valuable in large urban areas (with a density of cell towers), where a cellphone ping can land thousands of feet away—up to 10 football fields—from where a phone may be.

How is the public using it?
Family members and friends of younger smartphone users are enlisting the app to more quickly and accurately find each other in large venue environments, such state fairs, large malls, and other big or crowded events.

What other countries use it?
The software is used by 85 percent of UK emergency services, as well as 50 control centers across Canada. It also is used throughout Europe, Australia, South Africa, India, and most recently, Vietnam.

How can my agency learn more about what3words?
To request free training and tech sessions, contact [email protected] or visit https://what3words.com/business/request-an-integration-form.

Morrissa Ahl-Moyer uses a flow chart during a training session to help participants visualize the steps in activating an AMBER Alert: “I tell them the part on the left is what they need to worry about, and I handle everything else.”

Calling All 911 Telecommunicators