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PLENARY SESSION
Presentation 5
The latest evidence-based research on the topic of endangered missing children
Caroline Humer, Program Director ICMEC (International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children)
Ms Humer started her presentation with a brief overview about the AMBER Alert history. Amber
Hagerman was abducted in 1996, she was found in Texas. The public was outraged, they found the
solution in AMBER Alert, and the government had no play in this at the time. In 2003 the government
established that every state should have an AMBER Alert. Now there are 89 AMBER Alert plans
across the US states. All states have different guidelines. For example, some states exclude parental
abductions and others do not.
In 2013 there were 194 alerts across all states, with 243 children involved. 158 AMBER Alerts
resulted in recovery; 41 were recovered as a direct result of the AMBER Alert. In addition, Ms Humer
explained that last year 15 AMBER Alerts went cross state. Children usually don’t go far. However, if
you are already near a border you don’t have to go far.
Most AMBER Alerts are issued within in a 3 - 5 hour period, because the US law enforcement is well
informed about the procedure. In addition, the time between activation and recovery is mostly also
very quick, because one uses detailed and specific information. Ms Humer demonstrates that in most
cases the abductor is a parent or another known person of the child. She says: Please do not hesitate
to use the AMBER Alert!
In her conclusion, Ms Humer mentions that there is not much research about missing children.
Global information for example can be found via ICMEC (regional research on policy and legislation)
and the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust of Australia (funding for individuals to travel the world to
compare information about missing cases).