Nationally, there are 114,600 attempted abductions of children by non-family members every year; 74 percent of the children murdered by non-family members are killed within the first three hours of their abduction, and there is typically over a two-hour delay in making the initial missing child report, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
These are just a few of the reasons that the Wichita/Sedgwick County Exploited and Missing Child Unit (EMCU) is pleased to announce the implementation of the Amber Alert Plan in Sedgwick County. The goal of the Amber Alert Plan is the safe recovery of missing children who are believed to have been abducted, and are in danger of serious harm or death. Missing adults, runaways, and children taken in child custody disputes do NOT qualify for Amber Plan activation.
The Amber Alert is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement agencies and broadcasters to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases.
Broadcasters use the Emergency Alert System (EAS) formerly called the Emergency Broadcast System, to air a description of the missing child and suspected abductor. This is the same concept used during severe weather emergencies. The goal of the Amber Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and safe return of the child.
Under the plan, EMCU will provide participating media outlets, radio and television stations, with critical information about the abduction as soon as an Amber Alert is announced. A general radio message will be sent out with all pertinent information - description of the victim and the abductor, if possible, and any information about the crime, vehicle used, direction taken, etc.
The message will be repeated every 15 minutes for the first two hours, and every half hour for the next three hours.
"The sooner this information can be put out over the airwaves, the greater the chance that the abducted child may be found unharmed and the perpetrator apprehended," said Lt. Roy Mitchell, Wichita Police Department and EMCU supervisor. "So, it's crucial to get to them as quickly as possible, quicker than is possible now. That is the purpose behind the implementation of the Amber Alert Plan."
The Exploited and Missing Child Unit is multi-agency section comprised of personnel from the Wichita Police Department, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department and Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. The Unit is responsible for the investigation of all child sexual abuse and physical abuse cases. EMCU also investigates Internet crimes against children, runaway cases as well as parental and stranger abduction cases.
The U.S. Department of Justice reports that in almost all cases of sexual predators taking children, the victims are killed: 44 percent within the first hour, 74 percent within the first three hours, and less than one percent a full day later. They said 40 percent of the victims die before their disappearance is even reported.
The Amber Alert was created in 1996 as a legacy to nine-year-old Amber Hagerman who was kidnapped and brutally murdered while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas.
For more information please contact Lt. Roy Mitchell or Sgt. Jay McLaurian at the EMCU at 337-6552.