| Amber Rene Hagerman | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 25, 1986 |
| Died | January 15, 1996 (aged 9) Arlington, Texas |
Amber Rene Hagerman (November 25, 1986 – January 15, 1996) was a young girl who became a victim of an abduction and murder. On January 13, 1996, she was riding her bike near her grandparents' home in Arlington, Texas, and was kidnapped soon thereafter.[1] Her murder would later inspire the creation of the AMBER Alert system.
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Within days, Hagerman's mother, Donna Whitson (now Donna Norris), was "calling for tougher laws governing sex offenders".[2] Whitson testified in front of the U.S. Congress in June, asking legislators to create a nationwide registry of sex offenders. Representative Martin Frost, the Congressman who represents Whitson's district, proposed an "Amber Hagerman Child Protection Act." Among the sections of the bill was one that would create a national sex offender registry.[3] Both of Hagerman's parents were present when President Bill Clinton signed into law the bill creating the national sex offender register. Whitson and Richard Hagerman then began collecting signatures in Texas, which they planned to present to then-Governor George W. Bush as a sign that people wanted more stringent laws for sex offenders.[4]
The first AMBER Alert trial was run in 1996 at KRLD Radio Studio at the Ball Park in Arlington, Texas. 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 George W. Bush signed the AMBER Alert legislation, making it a national program.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children assists in the implementation of AMBER Alerts.
In 2006, a TV movie, Amber's Story,[5] was broadcast on Lifetime. It stars Elisabeth Röhm and Sophie Hough.
A comic book entitled Amber Hagerman Deserves Justice: A Night Owl Story was issued by Wham Bang Comics in 2009. It tells the story of Amber and the investigation into her murder.[6]