California Child Safety AMBER Network

When a violent rapist kidnapped two California teenage girls at gunpoint, law enforcement reached out to the public for immediate assistance. Descriptions of the teens, their abductor and the truck he was driving, flooded the airwaves and flashed at motorists from electronic freeway signs. The message was delivered quickly to millions of Californians and resulted in the dramatic rescue of the two kidnapped teens in rural Kern County.

Law enforcement credits a new statewide program, launched just days before the kidnappings, for the successful recovery of the two young girls. The program is called the California Child Safety AMBER Network -- a rapid response program designed to save the lives and expedite the recovery of missing and abducted children. The California program is modeled after the Amber Alert program established in Texas following the tragic kidnap and murder of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman.

According to protocol, the California Child Safety AMBER Network is activated when there is a confirmed child abduction. The program taps into the extensive resources of law enforcement, the media and the emergency broadcast system. Vital information about the victim and the suspect is rapidly disseminated to the public on radio and television stations, websites and freeway message signs. Broadcasts may be repeated frequently. This program has proven extremely successful in recovering victims and arresting suspects in communities across the country.

San Diego District Attorney's Child Abduction page

Visit California Attorney General's Website
California Missing Persons