The AMBER Alert System began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed up with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children. AMBER stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was created as a legacy to 9-year old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then brutally murdered. Other states and communities soon instituted similar plans as the idea was adopted across the nation. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the U.S. Department of Justice assumed responsibility for co-ordination at the national level.

You can have Amber Alerts sent to your cell phone or email register at: NYS Amber Alert