The power of free, over-the-air broadcasting is the best way to quickly reach Iowa citizens who may have information leading to the return of an abducted child. Through the Iowa Amber Alert Plan, listeners and viewers will become the eyes and ears of law enforcement, and hopefully aid in the return of a the child.

Currently there are 39 statewide Amber Alert Plans around the country. Each plan is set up and administered on an individual basis in accordance with the EAS procedures approved by the FCC. Each program establishes its own Amber Alert criteria, activation procedures, and distribution methods.

1. Law enforcement must confirm a child has been abducted.

2. The child is under the age of 18.

3. The circumstances surrounding the abduction indicate that the child is in danger of serious bodily harm or death.

4. There is enough descriptive information about the child, abductor and/or suspect's vehicle to believe an immediate broadcast alert will help.

Missing adults, runaways, and children taken in custody disputes do NOT qualify for Amber Alert activation in Iowa.

The Iowa Amber Alert Plan distributes Amber Alert messages using the Emergency Alert System (EAS). An Amber Alert can ONLY be activated by law enforcement.

For more information about the Iowa Amber Alert Plan contact: EAS Co-Chair Joe Schloss @ 712-262-1240; State EAS Co-Chair Jim Davies @ 319-335-5740.

The Amber Plan is endorsed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children www.ncmec.org. This non-profit center was founded by John Walsh after the abduction and murder of his son, Adam.

In February 2002 the FCC amended its rules for the Emergency Alert System to add a new Child Abduction Emergency (CAE) event code that is being used to activate the Iowa Amber Alert Plan. We strongly encourage all stations that have not already done so, to upgrade their equipment with the CAE code as soon as possible.