By Trish Svoboda

Today, January 13th, is National AMBER Alert Awareness Day. A news release stated Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and KBI Director Tony Mattivi want to remind Kansans how crucial their assistance is during an AMBER Alert as they strive to safely locate abducted children.

Since its establishment in 1996, this national program has successfully recovered 1,146 children. In Kansas, the program has played a role in bringing 71 children home safely since its inception in 2002.

The goal of an AMBER alert is to immediately engage the entire community to be observant in case the endangered child is spotted. When an AMBER alert is issued, the media is notified, and information about the missing child and suspect is broadcast. Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) are employed to notify citizens on their cell phones and mobile devices within a targeted geographic area.

The coordination of the Kansas AMBER Alert plan is handled by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office and the KBI.