By Carolyn Alvey
In January 1996, nine-year-old Amber Hagerman and her brother were riding their bikes in Arlington, Texas on a warm, sunny day. When Amber’s brother returned home, Amber continued riding her bike and soon after was abducted. Four days later, her body was found, but her abductor has never been brought to justice.
The tragedy had a huge impact on the community and there was an outcry for more to be done to protect our kids. Working on a pro bono basis for the Association of Radio Managers (ARMS), I was meeting with the general managers of Dallas/Fort Worth radio stations. The question was raised about what the group could do to help when a child is abducted. The president of ARMS looked at me and asked how we could respond when a child goes missing.
I didn’t have the answer that day, but I went to work asking the right questions to the Dallas Police Department and other organizations, which was the genesis of the concept for the Amber Alert.
The original idea was simple but powerful: create a way for law enforcement to immediately engage the community in the search for a missing child. That concept evolved into using the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to interrupt radio broadcasts and rapidly alert the public about an abduction. What began as an urgent conversation became a coordinated communications system between law enforcement and broadcast media built for one purpose — to get critical information to the public as quickly as possible. Because when a child is missing, every minute matters.
Working alongside law enforcement, broadcasters, and local leaders, we developed a framework that could be activated immediately, clearly, and without confusion. The response was immediate. Radio stations across Texas called asking how they could participate. Law enforcement agencies wanted to implement it in their own communities.
What started in Texas was adopted across the country when President George W. Bush signed the National Amber Alert System into law on April 30, 2003. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Amber Alert program has contributed to the safe recovery of more than 1,300 children as of the end of December 2025.
Thirty years later, the Amber Alert is embedded in our culture. When phones buzz and highway signs flash, Americans know exactly what it means.
That experience shaped how I view the impact of advocacy and public relations — not as a pursuit of publicity, but as responsibility to inform, mobilize, and serve the community when it matters most.
Clear communication can mobilize a state.
Strategic messaging can unite institutions.
Public awareness can save lives.
Those lessons are foundational to how I lead Aardvark Communications today.
Whether guiding clients through crisis communications, shaping policy narratives, or building campaigns that move communities to action, the principles remain the same: clarity, urgency, credibility, and purpose.
But just as communications must evolve, so must the systems we build.
In some states, the Amber Alert criteria has not kept pace with modern threats — particularly the rise of online grooming and social media luring. That gap was tragically evident in the case of Hailey Buzbee, a 17-year-old from Fishers, Indiana, who was lured from her home in January 2026 by a 39-year-old predator she met through online gaming. Hailey was murdered and her body found in the Wayne National Forest in southern Ohio the following month.
After Hailey’s death, I advocated for updating Indiana’s Amber Alert criteria to give law enforcement the flexibility to act quickly when a teen is missing and believed to be in danger — not only in traditional abduction scenarios, but also when online exploitation is involved.
The Indiana House and Senate passed House Bill 1303 and it was signed into law by the Governor on March 4, 2026, which will allow more missing children to qualify for an alert when they go missing. This is meaningful progress toward modernizing the law. It allows law enforcement to use the AMBER Alert tool with the urgency today’s digital landscape requires.
The Amber Alert was born from tragedy — but its legacy is action. And that legacy reminds me daily why communication matters.
At Aardvark Communications, we believe storytelling is powerful. But strategic communication can shape policy, protect communities, and in some cases, save lives.
I saw this in action in 1996 with the tragic death of Amber Hagerman. And it still guides me today.