On March 31, 2022, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law the nation’s first Indigenous Alert for missing Native Americans. The alert will send messages to law enforcement, news agencies, social media, and electronic highway signs. The alert is designed to address a much needed and improved response to the high rate of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Women in some Tribal communities face a murder rate 10 times higher than the national average, according to the Department of Justice. Additional efforts are underway to help indigenous communities from the DOJ’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force, which is led by the Washington Attorney General’s Office.

Washington state lawmakers are proposing a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Alert System that would be similar to AMBER and Silver Alerts. Washington Representative Debra Lekanoff said the alert would be used to raise awareness of missing Native people. The National Crime Information Center has found that Indigenous women are reported missing and murdered at a rate 10 times the national average — and murder is the third leading cause of death for Native American women.

Police officers in Kennewick, Washington, are investigating whether a viral TikTok video from Mexico shows a woman who was abducted nearly two decades ago shortly before her fifth birthday. The case remains open for Sofia Juarez, who was kidnapped on February 4, 2003, and sparked the state’s first AMBER Alert. The video is less than a minute long and shows a woman who claims she was abducted but said she doesn’t know where she’s from.

A man accused of trying to abduct an 11-year-old boy started yelling “AMBER Alert! AMBER Alert!” after grabbing him and trying to take him away. Spokane, Washington, police say the 26-year-old suspect tried to kidnap the boy June 30, 2019, while he and his mother were standing in line for pizza at a park festival. Witnesses grabbed the suspect and held him until police arrived.

Photo of the back of two men and their shirts, which read "Tacoma Police"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.

Two semi-trailers depicting images of missing children were used to help get out the message about National Missing Children's Day. The Washington State Patrol Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit had the trailers at the Wal-Mart in Tumwater on May 24, 2014. The trailers had images of Lindsey Baum, missing since June 2009, and Danica Childs, missing since December 2007. Officers also provided child safety information and fingerprinting for child identification kits.

Child Abduction Response Team in an operations room with laptops and whiteboards filled with info.

Two more Child Abduction Response Teams (CART) have received national certification from the U.S. Department of Justice. The Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council (MetroLEC) CART of Massachusetts and the Tacoma, Washington Police Department CART received the honors after meeting 47 standards of identified best practices and an onsite assessment of a mock child abduction exercise.

“These agencies are sending a message to the community that they are committed to recovering missing children,” said Alan Wolochuk, CART Certification Manager. “They are also sending a message to the bad guys that the children in this community have the best protection available.”

The MetroLEC is made up of law enforcement officers from several cities, towns and sheriff's offices. On July 23-24, 2013, MetroLEC members conducted a mock child abduction drill in the Town of Norwood. The exercise was used to assess the team, but it was also helpful to make their protocols stronger. “They did really well,” said Wolochuk. In February 2014, the MetroLEC CART became the second team in the northeast to earn the national certification from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Tacoma Police Department CART responded to a mock abduction on September 11-12, 2013. More than 150 law enforcement officers and civilian personnel did their best to find a 14-year-old girl who had been taken from a bus stop near a park. A witness saw the struggle and called for help. “The Tacoma CART's response was professional, coordinated and excellently managed,” said Wolochuk.

On December 20, 2013, the Tacoma Police Department received official notification from the U.S. Department of Justice of its certification, becoming the first CART to earn that distinction in the state of Washington. The U.S. now has 19 certified teams.