Facebook users can now receive Amber Alert notifications through the site for their state. A partnership between Facebook, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Department of Justice allows subscribers to receive official Amber Alerts on their news feeds.
You can “like” the page here and Facebook says they are contributing 50 million advertising impressions to promote this important program. There are currently 53 Amber Alert Pages set up, one for each of the 50 states, along with pages for D.C., Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. You can sign up for the alerts in states that interest you, and share the alerts with family and friends.
This is a more formalized approach to getting accurate information about Amber Alerts out through social networking.
An Amber Alert was issued Sunday after a 5-year-old girl vanished in the early morning hours from her home in Detroit, MI. Police say Mariha Trenice Smith was sleeping on the floor when her mom woke up around 3:30 a.m. to find the window open. Police were called and an amber alert was issued. Mariha was last seen wearing a t-shirt with pink flowers and jeans. She has black eyes and hair and stands about 2 feet, 5 inches tall. She is only 26 pounds and this is being investigated as an abduction. If you have any information, please contact Detroit Police: (313) 596-5900
An Amber Alert is still active for 5-month-old Katherine Phillips. She was last seen on June 29 with a man who is believed to be her father, Sean Phillips. Mason County prosecutors charged Phillips with kidnapping and held him on a $500,000 bond.
At this point, he will not say where Katherine, also known as “Baby Kate’s” location. Over the last few weeks, numerous searches took place, but none have led to the Katherine.
Baby Kate is only 2 feet tall, 12 pounds with blue eyes and light hair. She was last seen wearing pink shorts and a pink tank top with black and pink flowers.
Investigators would also like to speak with anyone who saw Sean Michael Phillips during the hours of 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Phillips may have been at the Wendy’s near the Birch Lake Apartments during those hours.
An Amber Alert is still active for 4-month-old Katherine Phillips. She was last seen on June 29 with a man who is believed to be her father, Sean Phillips. Mason County prosecutors charged Phillips with kidnapping and held him on a $500,000 bond. At this point, he will not say where Katherine, also known as “Baby Kate’s” location. Over the weekend, numerous searches took place, but none have led to the Katherine.
Baby Kate is only 2 feet tall, 12 pounds with blue eyes and light hair. She was last seen wearing pink shorts and a pink tank top with black and pink flowers.
Investigators would also like to speak with anyone who saw Sean Michael Phillips during the hours of 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Phillips may have been at the Wendy’s near the Birch Lake Apartments during those hours.
On Wednesday, June 29, authorities in Ludington, MI issued an amber alert for 4-month-old Katherine Phillips. She was last seen with a man who is believed to be her father, Sean Phillips. On Thursday, Mason County prosecutors charged Phillips with kidnapping and held him on a $500,000 bond. At this point, he will not say where Katherine, also known as “Baby Kate’s” location.
Baby Kate is only 2 feet tall, 12 pounds with blue eyes and light hair. She was last seen wearing pink shorts and a pink tank top with black and pink flowers.
A program to help find missing children and elderly citizens has been credited with finding more than five children. A Child Is Missing, Inc. is a non-profit based out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida that provides a FREE notification system to communities when someone goes missing. This service fills in the gap that the Amber Alert doesn’t cover. For an Amber Alert to be activated in certain areas there has to be indication that an abduction took place, and a vehicle description must be given. There are different requirements in various states to actually activate an Amber Alert. Police departments and sheriff’s offices can join this new service that can reach out to citizens within minutes of when a child or adult goes missing.
Law enforcement can call the service, and the notifications will be sent. A technician will record a message of what the missing child or adult was last seen wearing, their last location and any known physical characteristics. The recording will also give key information on how to contact authorities.
Shauna Fryar and her 4-month-old baby, Zaylee Grace Frayer moved to Millersville from Nashville, TN in late April. Police say only three days later, they both went missing.
Last week, Shauna’s body was found floating in the Cumberland River. Investigators say there did not appear to be any signs of trauma, but the Medical Examiner will determine the official cause of death. Shauna’s father is currently behind bars and is not considered a suspect in his daughter’s disappearance or Shauna’s death.
Authorities say Shauna’s current husband initially filed the missing person report. He told investigators he is used to Shauna disappearing for days at a time, but had no clue where she would be.
Zaylee has a quarter size birthmark on her right leg, she has brown eyes, black hair and weighs 12 pounds.
Anyone with information should contact Millersville Police Department at 859-2758, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND
Want to be alerted when a child is abducted? I encourage you to sign up for free via wireless Internet. It is easy, all you have to do is text the word AMBER followed by a space and your 5-digit zipcode to 26237.
If you don’t feel comfortable texting, you can always sign up on-line.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited children, the first three hours a child is abducted are the most critical to recovery efforts. This is a fantastic initiative to reach 200 million wireless subscribers. About 200-250 Amber Alerts are activated each year, and more than 400 children have been safely recovered because of the program.
When a child goes missing, often times it does not meet the official Amber Alert criteria. This is why Pennsylvania is bridging the gap between official Amber Alerts and other missing person cases. A new system launched called MEPAS, Missing Endangered Person Advisory System, will distribute information to Law Enforcement, broadcasters and the public when anyone goes missing.
MEPAS is completely separate from the Pennsylvania Amber Alert system, and will not be used if a child is abducted and in imminent danger, but will be activated if an elderly person or child wanders away.
According to a release on the Pennsylvania State Police website, MEPA will be issued when:
The circumstances of the incident do not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert.
The individual is missing under unexplained, involuntary or suspicious circumstances.
The person is thought to be in danger because of age, health, mental or physical disability, environment or weather conditions, or is known to be in the company of a potentially dangerous person.
The requesting police agency is conducting an active investigation and has entered the missing person into the National Crime Information Center database.
Police say Juliani Cardenas, 4, was abducted from his grandmothers arms on Tuesday. The Amber Alert to find him is still active. Juliani’s grandmother, Amparo Cardenas, told police Jose Esteban Rodriguez abducted her grandson and took off. Rodriguez is the child’s ex-boyfriend.
The official Amber Alert indicates Juliani was taken from Patterson, California and the suspect was last seen traveling in a silver Toyota Corolla with CA license plate: 6HBW445.
The vehicle is known to have oversized aluminum wheels. One of the left wheels is a spare wheel and is smaller than the others.
Michelle Sigona is a crime fighting, victims advocate extraordinaire, but for Michelle -- the good fight doesn't stop there. In her spare time, she is a volunteer firefighter -- and now, she is tackling the issues and cases that mean the most to her....
Facebook users can now receive Amber Alert notifications through the site for their state. A partnership between Facebook, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Department of Justice allows subscribers to receive official Amber Alerts on their news feeds.
Want to be alerted when a child is abducted? I encourage you to 
