WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department launched a broadcast drive Thursday for the AMBER Alert network, which alerts local agencies and the public to child kidnappings.
Broadcasters across the country have been asked to air public service announcements, or PSAs, for the America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response alert network, the department said.
The campaign honors Amber Hagerman, a young Texas girl who was kidnapped nine years ago Thursday while riding her bicycle, then murdered.
The PSAs, distributed by the National Association of Broadcasters, feature John Walsh of television's "America's Most Wanted" and Ed Smart, father of Elizabeth Smart, who was abducted from her home in June 2002 and safely recovered nine months later.
AMBER Alerts are emergency messages broadcast when a law enforcement agency determines a child has been abducted and is in imminent danger. The broadcasts include information about the child and the abductor, such as a physical description and information about the abductor's vehicle.
AMBER Alerts have saved 188 lives since they began in 1996.
