International

CART training in Puerto Rico photo collage

CART training in Puerto Rico, overseen by AATTAP, wins high praise

AATTAP team members visited Puerto Rico in January to conduct “Rescue, Recovery, and Reunification” field-training exercises for Child Abduction Response Teams (CART) and other members of law enforcement. “The CART training was a success, and for the first time ever we had a member of Congress at our training,” said AATTAP Administrator Janell Rasmussen.

AMBER Alert International – Issue I 2019

The Republic of Srpska joined AMBER Alert Europe and can now issue child abduction alerts. Also known as the Serb Republic, the country launched its system on September 5, 2018. “We look forward to working with the Republic’s law enforcement experts towards our mission to reach zero missing children in Europe,” said Frank Hoen, founder […]

AMBER Alert International – Issue IV 2018

Ecuador says it has become the first South American country to have an alert for children who have been abducted or are believed to be in immediate danger. The Alert Emilia is named after a nine-year-old girl who was abducted and murdered in 2017 by human traffickers. “In Ecuador the AMBER Alert will be called […]

AMBER Alert International – Fall 2018

The Bahamas started a pilot child abduction alert program in July 2018, similar to the U.S. AMBER Alert. The country is calling the notifications “Marco’s Alert,” after 11-year-old Marco Archer who disappeared and was later found dead in 2011. The public has to opt-in to receive the alert but police can decide if the situation […]

AMBER Alert International – Summer 2018

Peru has launched an AMBER Alert system to help find missing and abducted children immediately after police are notified of their disappearance. Under the previous law, police had to wait 24 hours before they began looking for a missing child. Peru Minister Board President César Villanueva said he will also increase the number of emergency […]

The International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children

Since 2007, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) has served as an international point-of-contact, providing technical assistant to countries for the development of Rapid Emergency Child Alert Systems. Since 2016, ICMEC has partnered with Facebook to assist in spreading AMBER Alerts on its social media platform. As of May 2018, the following […]

AMBER Alert International – Spring 2018

AMBER Alert Europe launched a task force on January 29, 2018, with a mission for saving missing children. The task force includes experts from the Czech Republic, Malta, Poland and the Netherlands. The task force provides a way to share information and best practices, network with colleagues across Europe and learn how to enhance their […]

AMBER Alert International – Fall 2017

Forty police officers as well as politicians from ten European countries met for an AMBER Alert training on October 24, 2017. Charlie Hedges, AMBER Alert Europe’s Police Network Coordinator, shared best practices on handling missing children cases at the meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania. “A quick risk assessment is crucial to identify the correct response to […]

Old hands

AMBER Alert International – Spring 2017

A British Columbia social worker is hoping Canada will create a new alert for missing at-risk children that do not fit the criteria for an AMBER Alert. Patricia McDonald says an “Alex Alert” is needed to prevent what happened to Alexandra Radita 4 years ago. The 15-year-old boy weighed only 37 pounds and was covered […]

Canadian, Mexican and United States flags

THE AMBER ALERT ACCORD: SYMPOSIUM AIMS TO ERASE BORDERS WHEN CHILDREN ARE ABDUCTED

Representatives from the U.S., Canada and Mexico are working to make sure the AMBER Alert systems in their countries and bordering areas work seamlessly when cross-border child abduction cases occur. The 2017 AMBER Alert Symposium included a panel discussion about what is being done to return abducted children who are taken across a national border. […]

Parliament Chambers

AMBER Alert International – Winter 2017

Nine European countries have signed an agreement to work closely together to help find missing children taken across national borders. The joint declaration was signed in November 2016 by Ministers of Interior Affairs from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. “When a child goes missing, quick and effective cross-border […]

Janet Turnbull in Mexico

Faces of the AMBER Alert Network: Mexico

Janet Turnbull is doing her best to make sure borders never get in the way of finding an abducted child. Since 2013 she has been working in Mexico City, Mexico, as a legal advisor for the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development and Training (OPDAT). Her focus is on human […]