LARGO, Fla. -- The recent Amber Alert for a missing toddler is a first for the Largo Police Department.
Largo Police contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sunday morning to recommend an Amber Alert. From there, the state worked quickly to gather the necessary information and push out the alert.
Read here: Amber Alert: Investigators use dive teams, K-9s in search for missing 2-year-old Largo boy
FDLE decides how far to broadcast the alert based on the information available. That means if you see the alert, that child could be in your area.
An Amber Alert is different than a missing child alert. In Florida, to activate an Amber Alert, the following five criteria must be met:
- The child must be younger than 18-years-old
- There must be a clear indication of an abduction
- Investigators believe the child's life is in danger
- The alert must have a detailed description of the child and abductor
- Local law enforcement has to recommend it
HISTORY
Amber Alerts date back to the 1990's after a little girl named Amber went missing in Texas. She was found dead days later and the public demanded action. Florida adopted the system in 2000.
According to the latest report, there have been 200 Amber Alerts in Florida with 64 cases resolved because someone saw something and called the police.
NATIONWIDE NUMBERS
Since the program started in 1996, 1,000 children have been recovered through the Amber Alert system.
The latest report completed in 2016 found that 179 Amber Alerts were issued in the US involving 231 children. 155 of those cases resulted in children found safe and 43 of those were because strangers responded to the alert.
In 2016, Texas issued the most Amber Alerts with 16, followed by Georgia with 13 and Florida with 12.
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