New Amber Alert system to be tested Sunday

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s Amber Alert Plan will try out a new system to notify the public when it is tested on Sunday. The tests are held twice each year to make sure the public is notified quickly and effectively when a child has been abducted.

A web portal used in other states to send Amber Alerts will be involved in Utah’s test on Sunday. The portal can send Amber Alerts and photos by email and text. Even though Utahns can get Amber Alerts by email and text, Utah’s Amber Alert Plan is designed to be redundant so the public will still be notified of a child abduction if one or more of the notification methods fail.

Utahns are encouraged to register to receive free Amber Alerts on their cellphones at www.wirelessamberalerts.org. They can also be notified on Facebook about Amber Alerts in Utah by clicking “Like” at www.facebook.com/AMBERalertUT.

This will be the 19th test for the state child abduction alert plan. The tests are held each year on Jan. 13, National Amber Alert Day, and Aug. 26, the date 3-year old Rachael Runyan was kidnapped near her Sunset home in 1982.

More information about Utah’s Amber Alert Plan can be found at www.amberalert.utah.gov.