OT: Cellphones can now get AMBER Alerts

(I know this is OT even for this group, but AMBER alerts are very
important to me for personal reasons, please support this if you can.)
By Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY Tue May 17, 6:27 AM ET
AMBER Alert, the public notification system that has helped return 201
abducted children safely since 1997, will be expanded today so that
most people with a cell phone or other wireless device can get alerts
in their area.
"The best way to find children who are at the greatest risk is to
mobilize the eyes and ears of the public," says Ernie Allen, president
of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in Alexandria,
Va., which worked with the wireless telephone industry to expand
alerts to wireless customers.
More than 182 million people use cell phones or other wireless
devices, such as BlackBerrys. About 90% of the users in the country,
those who subscribe to big carriers, can get an alert on an abducted
child free by signing up at www.wirelessamberalerts.org. They can
select the areas for which they want notification.
Subscribers to smaller phone services will be able to sign up in about
two months, says Steve Largent, president of CTIA–The Wireless
Association.
The cell phone alert builds on the existing AMBER Alert system that
broadcasts descriptions of the missing children and the suspects who
may have taken them in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Under the
system, law enforcement officials work with local radio and television
broadcasters to issue emergency messages when a child is missing and
thought to be in danger. Some states issue the alerts on electronic
highway signs.
The highway text messages are similar to what cell phone users would
receive. The missing child center will issue text messages when
notified by law enforcement. The messages will be routed to
participating carriers, such as Verizon or Sprint. The companies then
send the messages to subscribers. The process can be completed in
minutes, Allen says.
"Time is the enemy in the search for a missing child," Allen says.
"You have to move fast." In 74% of abduction cases, Allen says, the
child is killed within the first three hours.
AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. The
alert system was created after Amber Hagerman, 9, was abducted in 1996
from her neighborhood in Arlington, Texas, and killed. Allen credits
the system with the rescue of 201 children. Last year, the center
tracked 252 alerts.
Last week, police issued a nationwide AMBER Alert for a New Mexico
toddler reported missing on Mother's Day. The child was found unharmed
Friday in Mexico.

(I know this is OT even for this group, but AMBER alerts are very
important to me for personal reasons, please support this if you can.)
By Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY Tue May 17, 6:27 AM ET
AMBER Alert, the public notification system that has helped return 201
abducted children safely since 1997, will be expanded today so that
most people with a cell phone or other wireless device can get alerts
in their area.
"The best way to find children who are at the greatest risk is to
mobilize the eyes and ears of the public," says Ernie Allen, president
of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in Alexandria,
Va., which worked with the wireless telephone industry to expand
alerts to wireless customers.
More than 182 million people use cell phones or other wireless
devices, such as BlackBerrys. About 90% of the users in the country,
those who subscribe to big carriers, can get an alert on an abducted
child free by signing up at www.wirelessamberalerts.org. They can
select the areas for which they want notification.
Subscribers to smaller phone services will be able to sign up in about
two months, says Steve Largent, president of CTIA–The Wireless
Association.
The cell phone alert builds on the existing AMBER Alert system that
broadcasts descriptions of the missing children and the suspects who
may have taken them in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Under the
system, law enforcement officials work with local radio and television
broadcasters to issue emergency messages when a child is missing and
thought to be in danger. Some states issue the alerts on electronic
highway signs.
The highway text messages are similar to what cell phone users would
receive. The missing child center will issue text messages when
notified by law enforcement. The messages will be routed to
participating carriers, such as Verizon or Sprint. The companies then
send the messages to subscribers. The process can be completed in
minutes, Allen says.
"Time is the enemy in the search for a missing child," Allen says.
"You have to move fast." In 74% of abduction cases, Allen says, the
child is killed within the first three hours.
AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. The
alert system was created after Amber Hagerman, 9, was abducted in 1996
from her neighborhood in Arlington, Texas, and killed. Allen credits
the system with the rescue of 201 children. Last year, the center
tracked 252 alerts.
Last week, police issued a nationwide AMBER Alert for a New Mexico
toddler reported missing on Mother's Day. The child was found unharmed
Friday in Mexico.