Amber Hagerman
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Amber Hagerman (November 25, 1986–January 17, 1996) was a young girl who became a victim of an abduction and murder. In January 1996, she was riding her bicycle near her grandparents' home in Arlington, Texas, and was kidnapped soon thereafter.[1]
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[edit] Search for Amber
A neighbor called police and provided a description of the suspect and his vehicle (the witness described the abductor as a white or Hispanic male, driving a late model black pickup truck), but could not recall many details. Arlington Police and the FBI interviewed other neighbors and searched for the suspect and vehicle. Local radio and TV stations covered the story in their regular newscasts.
Four days later, following an extensive, area-wide search, Amber’s body was found by a resident who was walking his dog. The body was found at the bottom of a creek bed at the Forest Hollow apartment complex in north Arlington. Amber's throat had been slit.
No arrests were made.[1] Her murder remains unsolved.
[edit] The Amber Plan
A concerned citizen contacted a Dallas-area radio station, suggesting the idea that Dallas radio stations should repeat news bulletins about abducted children just like they do severe weather warnings.
The idea was presented to the Association of Radio Managers (ARM) composed of general managers of major radio stations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The general managers agreed that such a program would provide an important public service and might help save the life of a child.
The Dallas Amber Plan was started in July 1997 (other locales now also have similar plans) to help safely recover missing children that police believe have been abducted. Since then, the program has successfully recovered eight children and expanded to other cities and states nationwide.
[edit] AMBER Alert
In October 2000, the United States House of Representatives adopted H.R. 605 which encouraged communities nationwide to implement the AMBER Plan. In April 2003, President Bush signed the AMBER Alert legislation, making it a national program. While the AMBER Alert system is now mandated across the USA, some states are still trying to implement the procedures necessary in bringing the alerts to the public.[citation needed] Hampered by outdated Emergency Broadcast guidelines and different activation criteria in each state, the system is still being developed to provide optimal effectiveness.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children assists in the implementation of AMBER Alerts.
In 2006, a TV movie Amber's Story was broadcast on Lifetime. It stars Elisabeth Röhm and Sophie Hough.
