"People watching television or listening to the radio may soon be enlisted to help find an abducted child. The attention-getting shrill beeps of the Emergency Alert System will now be used to get out details about the victim and the suspected kidnapper.
Using the Rachael Alert, radio stations will announce the abductions and TV stations will air the child's photograph and provide important information in a "crawl" at the bottom of the television screen.
The Rachael Alert is named after Rachael Marie Runyan. The 3-year-old was kidnapped on August 26, 1982 while she was playing with her two brothers at a park in Sunset. Witnesses say the abductor offered Rachael some gum and then put her in his car and drove away. Rachael's body was found 24 days later in Weber Canyon.
The heartbreaking statistic is that 74 per cent of children abducted by strangers are killed within three hours of being taken," said Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. "The Rachael Alert will give kids an extra chance to survive."
Utah is joining a growing number of states using the alert program, which is known nationally as the Amber Plan, to disseminate information quickly while the trail is still fresh. The original plan was started in 1996 and was named after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle and brutally murdered in Arlington, Texas.
Law enforcement officials like the plan because the public becomes part of the solution. "Within moments we will have thousands of people ready, willing and able to help," said Kal Farr, Executive Director of the Utah Chiefs of Police Association.
At least 16 children have been saved so far using the Amber Plan in other areas. So far 33 communities have implemented the program and Utah is the ninth state to offer the plan statewide.
This is the best way to get the message out quickly and in the most places possible," said Dale Zabriskie, Executive Director of the Utah Broadcasters Association. "I can't think of a better way for broadcasters to serve the public than by trying to save the lives of children."
The Rachael Alert is unique because it can only be activated by law enforcement. It is only used for serious child abduction cases and cannot be used for runaways or most parental abduction cases unless the child's life is being threatened."
