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Karen Scullin reports
April 2, 2002-- A system usually used to warn people of severe weather will now also be used to help find kidnapped children.
It's called the "Rachael Alert," named after Rachael Runyon, who was kidnapped and murdered in Utah in 1982.
Crime Specialist Karen Scullin has details.
Statistics show 74 percent of kids who are kidnapped are killed within three hours of their abduction.
That's why law enforcement believes time is so critical when a child turns up missing.
Rachael Runyon's body was found in a creek bed in 1982.
She had been kidnapped and killed. The suspect was never caught.
This morning, a test alert was broadcast all across Utah on KSL radio to alert listeners that a child has been kidnapped.
Mark Shurtleff/Utah Attorney General: We have thousands and tens of thousands of Utahns who have their eyes wide open, who have a cell phone handy, who will then contact law enforcement when they see the suspect or the child, and hopefully will be able to save lives."
Elaine Runyon/Mother of Kidnap/Murder Victim: "This program, if we just save one child, it will be so worth it."
Along with the alert comes a description of the child and any details that may help listeners identify the victim and suspect.
There is a list of criteria that a missing child case needs to meet before the alert is sent out:
- The child is assumed kidnapped;
- The child is 15 or younger, or has a proven mental or physical disability;
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The child is in imminent danger of serious injury or death;
- There is information provided to aid the police, such as a description of the abductor, the abductor's vehicle or the child's last known location.
If all those conditions are met, police fax a form to the broadcasters that includes all available information. Broadcasters will require some sort of password to ensure the alert's legitimacy.
Broadcasters may choose whether to activate the emergency system to announce the Rachel Alert, said Utah Broadcasters Association chief Dale Zabriskie.
Because the system is optional, a station in St. George, for example, may decline to issue an emergency broadcast if the child was abducted in northern Utah.
The system won't be used to track runaways or children involved in custody disputes, Zabriskie said.
Shurtleff pointed to a recent situation in Pleasant Grove where an autistic child went missing, and hundreds of volunteers turned out to help search. While that incident wouldn't have qualified for a Rachel Alert, it showed how the community can quickly mobilize to help police.
"We have thousands, tens of thousands, of Utahns with their eyes open and cell phones ready," Shurtleff said.
Commissioner of Public Safety Robert Flowers said that the alert would allow the shutdown of I-15 in the event of a search.
The Rachael Alert is part of the nation-wide "Amber plan", named for Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old who was abducted and murdered in Texas in 1996.
Utah is the ninth state to establish such a program, along with a number of cities and counties.
Nationwide reports show sixteen children have been recovered through this type of system.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
