AMBER Alert Program Expands to Facebook

AMBER Alert Program Expands to Facebook

ANNOUNCEMENT COMMEMORATES THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ABDUCTION AND MURDER OF 9-YEAR-OLD AMBER HAGERMAN

WHAT: A press conference to announce that millions of Facebook users will be able to sign up to receive AMBER Alerts issued in their state/region.

WHEN: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 10:30 AM

WHERE: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center, 699 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.

WHO: Participants include:

Laurie Robinson, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs and National AMBER Coordinator, U.S. Department of Justice;

Ernie Allen, President and CEO, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children;

Chris Sonderby, Lead Security and Investigations Counsel, Facebook;

Colonel Steven Flaherty, Superintendent Virginia State Police

EDITORS NOTE: All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver's license) as well as valid media credentials. Media are requested to RSVP to NCMEC at (703) 837-8111 or media@ncmec.org by Noon on Tuesday, January 11 EST.

Media may begin arriving at 9:30 AM EST and cameras must be pre-set by 10:15 AM. A riser with mult-box sound available for on-site broadcast crews.

The press conference will be streamed live on the Washington, DC Facebook page Livestream player at http://on.fb.me/FBDClive. It will also be visible at http://www.livestream.com/facebookdclive. In addition to being streamed live, an archived copy will appear on the Livestream player following the announcement and press conference.

WHY: Each year an estimated 800,000 children are reported missing. This press conference is being held the day before the January 13 anniversary of the day 9-year-old Amber Hagerman went missing while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas. A neighbor heard her scream and saw a man pull her off her bike, throw her into the front seat of his pickup truck and drive away. Local radio and television stations covered the story. However, four days later Amber's body was found in a drainage ditch four miles away. Her kidnapping and murder still remain unsolved.

Although her case has never been solved, her abduction and murder in 1996 prompted the creation of the national AMBER (America's Missing Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert Program. In response to Amber's abduction, the Dallas/Fort Worth Association of Radio Managers teamed up with local law-enforcement in 1997 to implement the first local AMBER Plan. Since that time, the program has grown into a seamless network of 120 AMBER plans across the country, and has even reached into Canada, England, France, Greece, Portugal and other countries. To date, the AMBER Alert program has been credited with the safe recovery of 525 children.

The AMBER Alert Program is a voluntary partnership involving law-enforcement agencies and broadcasters. An urgent AMBER Alert bulletin is issued by law enforcement in the most serious child-abduction cases that meet specific criteria. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and the safe recovery of the child. The AMBER Alert's reach has been further expanded through the AMBER Alert Secondary Distribution Program which includes approved Internet Service Providers, Digital Signage, the Trucking Industry and the Wireless Industry who help distribute AMBER Alert messages to a geographically targeted audience.

CONTACT: NCMEC, Public Relations Department, +1-703-837-6111, media@ncmec.org

/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- Jan. 3, 2011/

SOURCE National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Web Site: http://www.livestream.com/facebookdclive

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