This issue updates reports on the work of AMBER Alert staff members, a successful AMBER Alert in Minnesota, AMBER Alert programs in Indian Country, AMBER Alert programs in other countries, and brief descriptions of AMBER Alert advances in various states and a U.S. territory.
One article is an appreciation for Jim Walters’ leadership in his nearly 7 years as AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program Administrator. A report on a successful AMBER Alert case in Minnesota describes how a bird-watching grandmother heard an AMBER Alert on her cell phone and used her binoculars to spot the license plate of the car in which the child victim was kidnapped, leading to a safe recovery of the child victim. Reports on AMBER Alert in Indian country address the development of the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country program, South Dakota's creation of an office for cases of missing Indigenous persons, Oklahoma's consideration of a law to assist missing and murdered Indigenous people, and Wyoming's issuing of a report on missing and murdered Native Americans. Another article on an AMBER Alert staff member presents an interview with the Maryland Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager, who explains how her personal experience as a runaway youth has both motivated and informed her work. Descriptions of international developments in AMBER Alert programs address efforts in the Netherlands, Canada, Europe, and Croatia. AMBER Alert program briefs focus on developments in the U.S. states of Colorado, Tennessee, Washington State, Minnesota, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida, Kentucky, Connecticut, North Dakota, Utah, and the U.S. territory of Marianas Islands.