Amber Alert Ideas Expand

Governor Holden has signed an executive order implementing the Alert Missouri system, a statewide child abduction alert system similar to the Amber Alert systems used elsewhere. The system will enlist several state agencies to allow the Department of Public Safety and the State Highway Patrol to expand local alerts about missing children statewide when appropriate. Meanwhile, a legislative committee looking into the possibilities of an Amber Alert system in Missouri has heard people at its public hearings suggest there should be no minmum age for the program. Springfield Police Chief Lynn Rowe says it’s not in the best public interest to limit the program. Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell has added some support to Rowe’s view. He recalls the kidnapping of a 19-year-old woman in Scott City and the lack of information that got out to other law enforcement agencies in the area. The Amber Alert is named for a nine-year-old Texas girl who was kidnapped and murdered five years ago. It was used a few months ago in the state of California to rescue two kidnapped girls. Many public officials are studying how best to implement such a system in Missouri.