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WASHINGTONBill signing bittersweet for Amber’s momCeremony marks crackdown on crimes against kidsAmber Alert systemSince its start in 1997, the Amber Alert system, modeled on bulletins issued during severe weather, has helped to find abducted children.THE DALLAS MORNING NEWSSOURCE: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (U.S.)KNIGHT RIDDER TRIBUNEWashington •Amber Hagerman’s mother went to the White House on Wednesday with a heavy heart and as much pride as a mother can muster.Amber disappeared seven years ago in northern Texas. Thanks to the law President Bush signed with Amber’s mother at his side, her name will be linked nationwide with the missing-child alerts that helped save at least 64 children.“It’s a bittersweetthing,” Donna Norris said before the Rose Garden ceremony. “My little girl was abducted and butchered for this bill to even exist. But it’s saving children’s lives. It’s just a bittersweet thing.” Families of other abducted children were on hand to witness Bush sign the national Amber Alert system into law as part of legislation that cracks down on child pornography and stiffens penalties for sex crimes against children.Norris represented the parents whose children did not come back. Others repreAMBERHAGERMAN:Motherpushed for system that bears her name.sented those who did, including Elizabeth Smart, the Utah girl abducted at knifepoint last year from her bedroom. Her parents, who pushed for national Amber Alert system, held Elizabeth close and beamed throughout the ceremony.Several of the youngsters on hand owed their lives to Amber Alerts, which started in the Dallas area and spread to 41 states, including Colorado. Wisconsin joined the list Wednesday.“It is so common sense, said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. “It is the ultimate good idea.”Even so, the Amber Alert bill stalled for months in Congress.Rep. Martin Frost, D-Texas, and Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison long pushed for a nationwide alert system. The Senate passed the measure overwhelmingly, but GOP House leaders insisted on a broader bill, with Amber Alerts as one provision.The new law does not require states to establish an alert system, but for those that do, it provides money for highway signs and training for state and local authorities. It requires the Justice Department to create standards for the use of Amber Alerts and boosts penalties for crimes against children.“No family should ever have to endure the nightmare of losing a child,” Bush said. “Because of you, children and parents you may never meet will be spared from the harm and anguish your familieshave known.”Norris worked with local police and broadcasters to create the Amber Alert system, which piggybacked on the old emergency broadcast network.In many areas, authorities use radio, TV and highway signs to give the public details about missing children and suspects.It's a great legacy for Amber, Norris said, but she’d rather have her daughter back.Saturday, Jan. 13, 1996, a man in a black pickup truck snatched the third-grader from her bicycle in a grocery store parking lot, a block from the home of Amber’s grandparents. A witness called police, told them what the truck looked like and which way it turned on Abrams Street.Officials had no way to enlist the public’s help. Four days later, a man walking a dog after a rainstorm found her body in a creek.Norris, 35, moved from Arlington, Texas, to Hurst, Texas, after Amber disappeared. Like other parents thrust into the spotlight by tragedy, she has become a spokeswoman of sorts.After the bill signing, she was scheduled to do a special edition of “America’s Most Wanted, ” a TV show hosted by John Walsh, whose 6-year-old son, Adam, was abducted and killed. Walsh was a vocal advocate for the bill, and he, too, was at the Rose Garden.States with Amber plans□ Statewide planHow the system works■ Law enforcement agencies alert TV. radio to child-abduction cases■ TV. radio use local Emergency Alert System to air description of missing child, suspected abductor; some states also flash alerts to drivers on roadside emergency signsWhy it's called Amber Alert■ Named after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman of Arlington, Texas, who was abducted and slain in 1996
Newspaper Details
Colorado Springs Gazette
Colorado Springs, Colorado, US
Thu, May 01, 2003
Page 57
Full Page
Clipped by
La C.
WI, USA 15 Dec 2023
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