When
a child is abducted, there is a frantic search for their kidnapper. When an
AMBER Alert is launched in California, your eyes and ears can help save that
child's life.
CBS47's
Steve McCarron takes an exclusive look into who is behind California's AMBER
Alert system, what's being done to improve it and how you can step in when
seconds count.
Victor Perez will never look at the view from his front
porch the same ever again. On October 4, 2010, breaking news was spreading
quickly about the AMBER Alert issued for an 8-year-old girl kidnapped from the
front yard of her Central Fresno home.
Perez,
who was not working that day, recognized the suspect's truck from news reports
and it was driving right down his street. “Never in my wildest dreams did I
think it would be down the street where that happened. He was making a U-Turn
right here,” said Perez.
With
adrenaline pumping, something inside prompted Perez to step in and help. He got
into his truck and tried to stop the suspect, 25-year-old Gregorio Gonzalez. He
tried to cut off the truck several times before the chase came to a crashing
end and the girl was set free.
“The
look in her face, you know, said a million words, you know? Finally when me and
her were face-to-face, she was having like a nervous breakdown like she came
out of a freezer,” said Perez, whose brave actions that cold, fall morning
helped save the young girl’s life.
State
leaders say this case is an example of how California's AMBER Alert System
is supposed to work.
Descriptions
of abducted children under the age of 18, suspects, and vehicle information
released to the public that will hopefully lead to a successful ending.
George
Runner, who now serves on the State's Board of Equalization, wrote the original
bill in 2002 that created California's AMBER Alert System. “We felt that it was
a really efficient, effective way to get people engaged. Quite frankly, at that
point, we didn't realize how effective it would be,” said Runner.
Over
the last nine years, 222 victims have been safely rescued or recovered in
California and 110 suspects have been taken into custody.
CBS47's
Steve McCarron visited the top-secret room in Sacramento called the
"Emergency Notification and Tactical Alert Center" or ENTAC, where
every AMBER Alert is launched.
CBS47
is the first Fresno television station invited inside to see how it
works.
For
years, current California Highway Patrol Assistant Chief L.D. Maples had the
final word on each AMBER Alert Activation. “AMBER Alerts work best when it's
targeted, specific information for effectiveness and efficiency reasons,” said
Maples.
If
a case called in from a local police or sheriff's department fits several
strict criteria, officials at ENTAC can authorize an alert, sending out useful
information to the public through the media and highway signs in specific
regions of the state or counties.
The
alerts can even show up on tens of thousands of lottery machines statewide all
at once.
“There's
not really, in my experience, another example of something that's a better
collaborative effort between public, private sector, and the media that
produces the fact that if you can save one kid... Then obviously it's very
effective,” said Maples.
Maples
says the future of California's system lies heavily on the technology of
tomorrow. You can already sign-up for AMBER
Alerts through most cell phone providers, Twitter, and Facebook,
but in a state of 37 million people, only 17,000 have joined California's AMBER
Alert Facebook
page.
Maples
says public involvement is key to making it work. “Time is absolutely the worst
enemy in a child abduction, besides the person abducting the child, so the
clock is something law enforcement is working against,” said Maples.
These
days, Perez says he pays closer attention to every AMBER Alert that's issued.
Over the past 14 months, he's received a slew of accolades from local and state
leaders that now line the mantel inside his cousin's home, along with his favorite
– a picture drawn by the little girl he saved.
Victor
Perez has been praised as a hero and a Good Samaritan, all because he heard the
AMBER Alert and got involved.
Perez
is currently working toward one day opening his own contracting business.
The
suspect, Gregorio Gonzalez, is currently in the Fresno County Jail and
scheduled to appear in court again on December 15th.
Below is a list of resources for missing children. There are also several websites to sign up for AMBER Alerts in the related links.
California
Highway Patrol
1-800-TELL-CHP
(1-800-835-5247)
1-800-222-FIND
(1-800-222-3463)
1-888-818-HOPE
(1-888-818-4673)
Office
of Victim Services
(877)
433-9069
1-800-THE-LOST
(1-800-843-5678)
[Source:
CBS47.tv]
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