Arizona Amber Alert

On January 13, 1996 Amber Hagerman was riding her bicycle near her home in Arlington, TX. A neighbor heard the girl scream and saw a man pull Amber into his truck and drive away. Local radio & TV stations covered the story on their regular newscast as the police & FBI searched for Amber.  Four days later Amber’s body was found.  Her kidnapping and murder remain unsolved today.

A concerned citizen contacted a Dallas radio station, managed by JD Freeman, suggesting that stations should repeat news bulletins about abducted children like they do severe weather warnings.  The Dallas/Fort Worth Association of Radio Managers agreed that such a program would provide an important public service and save the life of a child.  Thus, the first AMBER plan was started in July 1997 to help safely recover abducted children whose lives police believed were in imminent.

The Arizona AMBER Alert plan began with a meeting of senior executives from Metropolitan Phoenix area law enforcement agencies and all Radio & Television stations, including JD Freeman, now ABA Board Chairman, on January 4, 2001.  A 15-member task force was named with Art Brooks, ABA President & CEO, as Chairman, and it was decided to title the statewide plan, Arizona Child Abduction Alert System. In September 2002 Arizona Governor, Jane Hull, held a press conference to formally announce activation of this unique partnership between Arizona Broadcasters, Law Enforcement, Arizona Department of Transportation and the Arizona Lottery.

Shortly after the first activation in November 2002, the Oversight Committee decided to rename the plan as Arizona AMBER Alert, America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.  Currently, the Arizona Broadcasters Association is only one of two state broadcasters’ associations in the country to have the President & CEO as state AMBER Alert Coordinator.