Amber Alert to be expanded to Internet

Beth Slovic

Tuesday, July 20, 2004 | 8:31 a.m.

Almost one year after Gov. Kenny Guinn signed Nevada's Amber Alert system into law, the emergency notification network will soon expand to the Internet, where residents will for the first time be able to sign up for instant messages informing them of child abductions in their area.

The Web site, www.nevadaamberalert.com, will go live later this summer after officials here have had a chance to monitor similar Web sites now operating in Washington and Arizona, said Bob Fisher, president of Nevada Broadcasters Association.

The goal of the site is to help authorities more quickly locate missing children, before they are harmed. Ultimately, officials also hope the site will spread information on suspected child abductions so fast, to so many people, that it deters future kidnappings.

Currently, the emergency alert system uses radio technology that requires several hours to relay information.

Time is key, because, according to a press release announcing the Web-based system, 74 percent of missing children who are killed die within three hours of their abductions.

Nevada was the third state to join what will eventually become a nationwide network of information on kidnappings and missing children, Fisher said.

When the system is up and running in all participating states, the company that designed the Internet portal hopes it will unite regional authorities seamlessly.

"We built a consortium so all of them (state governments) will work together," said Chris Warner, the president of E2C, the Arizona company responsible for creating the Amber Alert portal.

To make the system work, local law enforcement agents in Nevada and across the country will type in information on the alleged crime on a secure Web portal. In about 15 minutes the Web-based system then will send messages to broadcasters, law enforcement agencies and the public via cell phones, pagers and e-mail messages.

"It's a technological advance that on the law enforcement level, broadcasters' level and public level will allow us to do a better job; the possibilities are great," Fisher said.

If a child were abducted in eastern California, for example, the police there could enter information on the suspect and the kidnapped child on the Web portal. Within minutes, alerts could be sent to police departments, television stations and residents, wherever officials believed the suspect would travel, Fisher said.

The enhancement has two top state officials optimistic about the Amber Alert system's potential for saving children's lives.

"It will reach a much larger audience," said Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins. "I'm excited about it."

Guinn, in a statement, noted that since the state's Amber Alert system was created (in July 2003), it has been activated 10 times.

"I encourage all local agencies to continue to utilize and support this wise investment in our safety," Guinn wrote.