Utah unveils alert system for missing children

KEARNS — When a child goes missing, time is precious. Every minute that ticks by is a minute in which that child could be lost forever.

The AMBER Alert system puts the nation on notice when an abduction occurs, but sometimes it can be an hour or more before the word begins to spread beyond police to the public.

Utah is closing that gap.

On Friday, Utah's Attorney General Mark Shurtleff debuted a new instant alert system that brings every Utahn with a cell phone, pager or computer into the loop. Utah is believed to be the first state with such a system, Shurtleff said.

The new system will send text messages to phones, pagers and e-mail to computers that detail everything that is known about a victim and his abductor, including names, ages, physical features, clothing worn and the type of vehicle used in the abduction. Citizens can also receive a crawling ticker across their computer screens.

That means thousands of average Janes and Joes can be on the lookout for the child as quickly as Utah police. More often than not when alerts are issued, it is the public that first spots the missing person.

"Every second counts when it comes to the recovery of an abducted child," said Shurtleff, who as a parent said he knows that feeling of panic when you realize your child is out of your sight.

The instant alert system was initially developed for law enforcement by Utah's Bureau of Criminal Identification and has often proven effective. In May, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper looked up from reading such an alert on his computer screen and immediately spotted a van belonging to Jose Jimenez, 21, who allegedly had kidnapped 11-year-old Cindy Bruno from her St. Cloud, Minn., home. Andrade was arrested and now faces federal kidnapping charges in Minnesota.

The public can sign up for the phone, pager and e-mail alerts by logging on the BCI Web site, www.bci.utah.gov. Those who also want to receive the ticker message on their computers can register at www.fatpot.com. FATPOT Technologies Inc., a technology and software company, is providing the service.

In both cases, the alerts are free to the public. Media agencies, the Utah Department of Transportation, state ports of entry, truckers, traffic and travel information lines can also receive the alerts.

At the time of an alert, notifications are sent every 15 minutes during the first three hours of an event, followed by periodic updates, said Nannette Rolfe, BCI's bureau director.