Are the AMBER Alert guidelines too strict?
Elizabeth Olten, a 9-year-old girl from central Missouri, has been missing since Wednesday.
There is a massive search underway. According to news reports:
Elizabeth was listed as an “endangered missing person” and federal authorities have joined the case, White said. The sheriff said it did not appear that the girl had run away from home, and no Amber Alert had been issued because there was no evidence of an abduction or foul play.
The AMBERT Alert system is is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry, to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and the safe recovery of the child.
There are very specific guidelines that must be met in order to issue an alert, including law enforcement’s confirmation that an abduction has occurred and the risk of serious bodily injury or death to the child. Elizabeth’s case seems to meet these standards, with the exception of “evidence” of an abduction. But, if a child is grabbed off a street, what kind of evidence are authorities going to find?
We should not overwhelm the AMBER Alert system with reports of children who may have runaway or been taken by a noncustodial parent, which happens much more frequently than a stranger abduction. But in cases where it seems so likely that an actual crime has occurred, law enforcement should err on the side of caution. It could mean the difference of a child ever being reunited with her family.
Aisha covered education and breaking news for nearly ten years before joining the Lifestyle staff where she writes a "Dirty Laundry" parenting column. She is the home and family editor and wastes too much time on Facebook and political blogs. 
Actually, they do use the AMBER alert system when a child has been abducted by a non custodial parent. Because then they DO have evidence that the child was abducted.
I’ll be honest, I completely ignore Amber Alerts now. When they first came out I would listen and pay attention and it always seem to be a non custodial parent who took the child because they just wanted to see them. Most of the time the child isn’t in real harm, they are just stuck between bickering parents. It’s sad because a child could be taken by a non custodial parent who wants to do harm to them, but most of us won’t pay attention because the system has been abused.
Seems like ’stupid human tricks.’ I sometimes wonder why they are interrupting us if there is no description of the child or abductor . . like breaking into programming when there is no news.
This will just desensitize the public and keep them from looking if there is actually some information.
The girl’s face was in the news; unless someone were living in a cave they had there eyes open . . . let’s not criticize law enforcement or act like they were not looking . . and let’s give this animal a fair trial, then a first class execution . . .or better yet, toss him in the same cell as her dad and brother.