Tennessee to recognize Amber Alert Day

Jan. 13, 1996, is a day that will never be forgotten. On that day Amber Hagerman was kidnapped, raped and brutally murdered in Texas while riding her bicycle. The AMBER Alert network was created shortly after this tragedy in the hopes of preventing such events from occurring in the future.
In January 2005, the Department of Justice declared Jan. 13 National AMBER Alert Day in her honor. This year, Tennessee will commemorate this day with a special celebration.
The TBI has teamed up with the Predators and there will be special events held at the Predators hockey game on Sunday. There will be a booth set up by the TBI to distribute children’s ID kits and information regarding how to educate and protect children, along with the showing of special film segments featuring all the missing children in the state of Tennessee throughout the game.
To make the AMBER Alert network affective, it takes cooperation between all law enforcement and the public. Once an AMBER Alert is issued in Tennessee, the public is notified in various ways.
In Tennessee, AMBER Alerts can be activated locally, regionally or statewide. Motorists may have noticed the electronic signs on the interstates. These signs are used to notify the public of AMBER Alerts that occur in a specific region and AMBER Alerts are issued statewide.
Notification is also done through various media outlets, including radio and TV.
To receive instant notification of an Amber Alert, sign up for text message notification. The TBI is encouraging all cellular customers to sign up to receive notification of AMBER Alerts issued in Tennessee by going to www.wirelessamberalert.org.
“If you could help bring a missing child home, would you not want to be part of that assistance?” a spokesman asked.
To sign up to receive text messages regarding AMBER Alerts issued in Tennessee, simply go to www.wirelessamberalerts.org and enter your 10 digit wireless phone number and select up to five zip codes. Participants will be notified via text message whenever there is an AMBER Alert issued in Tennessee within the selected zip codes.
“By working together, hopefully we can prevent another Amber Hagerman tragedy,” a spokesman said.
Published in The Messenger 1.11.08

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