AMBER ALERT DIRECTIVE

I. The Amber Alert System is used to relay information relating to the abduction of a child. The following steps are to be followed in these instances:

Criteria for Selecting Amber Alert:

1. The child must be 17 years of age or younger
2. The investigating agency must believe that the child is in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death
3. There must be enough descriptive information about the child, the suspect, and /or the circumstances surrounding the abduction to believe that activation of the alert will help to locate the child.
4. The activation must be recommended by the local law enforcement agency of jurisdiction AND
5. The activation is not to be used for runaway children or family abductions unless the investigation determines that the child is in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death.

II. Request for AMBER Alert Activation

A. Officers must make sure the above AMBER Alert criteria have been met

B. Officers must notify the Sheriff's office in their county to activate the local or regional Amber Alert System, including the activation of the EAS (Emergency Alert System) within the agency's EAS Operational Zone. If an activation of the EAS outside of the agency's operational zone is requested, the Ohio State Highway Patrol personnel will take the necessary steps to implement the EAS in the operational zone requested.

C. Officer will need to contact the ODNR Communication Center with the following information so that the entry into LEADS may be made. (The AMBER Alert file is accessed through LEADS)

1. Contact person
2. Contact person phone number
3. Contact adjacent state (i.e. IN, KY, MI, PA, WV)
4. Victim Information
   1. First Name
   2. Last Name
   3. DOB
   4. HGT
   5. WGT
   6. HAI
   7. EYE
   8. RAC
   9. GENDER

Suspect Information

1. First Name
2. Last Name
3. DOB
4. HGT
5. WGT
6. HAI
7. EYE
8. RAC
9. GENDER

Vehicle information

1. License plate number
2. License state
3. License type
4. Vehicle year
5. Vehicle make
6. Vehicle model
7. Vehicle color

The following is a list of counties and which EAS (Emergency Alert System) operational zone that they are located in. Please refer to this list in order to request the correct EAS zone to be activated.

1. NWEST (Includes the following counties)
   1. Defiance
   2. Fulton
   3. Henry
   4. Lucas
   5. Ottawa
   6. Sandusky
   7. Seneca
   8. Williams
   9. Wood
2. LAKE (Includes the following counties)
   1. Ashtabula
   2. Cuyahoga
   3. Erie
   4. Geauga
   5. Huron
   6. Lake
   7. Lorain
   8. Medina
3. LIMA (Includes the following counties)
   1. Allen
   2. Auglaize
   3. Hancock
   4. Hardin
   5. Mercer
   6. Paulding
   7. Putnam
   8. Van Wert
4. NCENT (Includes the following counties)
   1. Ashland
   2. Crawford
   3. Knox
   4. Marion
   5. Morrow
   6. Richland
   7. Wyandot
5. ECENT (Includes the following counties)
   1. Carroll
   2. Coshocton
   3. Guernsey
   4. Holmes
   5. Portage
   6. Stark
   7. Summit
   8. Tuscarawas
   9. Wayne
6. YTOWN (Includes the following counties)
   1. Columbiana
   2. Mahoning
   3. Trumbull
7. WCENT (Includes the following counties)
   1. Champaign
   2. Clarke
   3. Darke
   4. Greene
   5. Logan
   6. Miami
   7. Montgomery
   8. Preble
   9. Shelby
8. CENT (Includes the following counties)
   1. Delaware
   2. Fairfield
   3. Fayette
   4. Franklin
   5. Hocking
   6. Licking
   7. Madison
   8. Muskingum
   9. Pickaway
   10. Perry
   11. 1'Union
9. EOHIO (Includes the following counties)
   1. Belmont
   2. Harrison
   3. Jefferson
   4. Monroe
   5. Noble
10. SWEST (Includes the following counties)
    1. Brown
    2. Butler
    3. Clermont
    4. Clinton
    5. Hamilton
    6. Highland
    7. Warren
11. SCENT (Includes the following counties)
    1. Adams
    2. Jackson
    3. Lawrence
    4. Pike
    5. Ross
    6. Scioto
    7. Vinton
12. SEAST (Includes the following counties)
    1. Athens
    2. Gallia
    3. Meigs
    4. Morgan
    5. Washington

Any additional information

History: In 1996, 9- year old Amber Hageman disappeared from her Arlington, Texas neighborhood while riding her bicycle. A neighbor was able to give some details of the car involved, but no system was in place to get that information to local residents quickly. Tragically, Amber's body was found four days later.

Hoping to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, outraged area residents suggested that the media relay kidnapping information the same way severe weather warnings are issued: using the emergency system broadcasts across numerous media outlets. Thus, the 'AMBER Alert PlanÓ was born.

On August 28, 2002 Ohio Governor Bob Taft signed Executive order 2002-10T ordering the creation of a statewide AMBER Alert system in Ohio. A taskforce was formed to create the AMBER Alert system for Ohio and implementation was to occur no later than January 01, 200'

** AMBER (America's Missing Broadcast Emergency Response) **

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