The new system, which quickly spreads the word about a missing or abducted child, is bound to increase the chances of recovery, he says.
By Associated Press
Published September 9, 2003
TALLAHASSEE - Florida's new e-mail alert system will improve the chances of finding missing children, Gov. Jeb Bush said Monday.
The governor talked about the program after parents of missing children, law enforcement representatives and area students gathered at the Capitol for the fifth annual Missing Children's Day to remember children who have been killed or are still missing.
The event also honored police officers, school bus drivers and children who have rescued children or prevented abductions.
Last year, there were 49,962 reports of missing children, down from 50,864 the year before and 55,109 two years ago, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. In the first six months of this year, there were 25,838 reports.
The vast majority of the children reported missing are runaways, according to the FDLE. Less than 1 percent were considered "predatory abductions."
"The best story today was the story of the young girl who ... screamed and kicked and didn't let it happen," Bush said later. "And that took a lot of courage."
Bush was referring to an 8-year-old who was honored Monday for fighting back when a man grabbed her and pulled her into his car as she was walking to school.
Donna Uzzell, director of the Missing Children Information Clearinghouse at the FDLE, said the girl was able to help herself by attracting the attention of nearby adults.
"Even though she was scared and she got a few scrapes and cuts in the process, she was able to help herself by fighting back and by drawing attention to herself," Uzzell said.
Another girl, 11, was honored for backing away from a man who approached her at her school bus stop and then running to a neighbor's house and calling police.
Nationally, nearly 800,000 children are reported missing every year, according to an October 2002 report by the U.S. Department of Justice. Only a fraction of those - 115 - are the victims of serious, long-term abductions. And more than half of those 115 are recovered alive.
One of the steps the state has taken to rescue children in recent years is the Florida Amber Plan, designed to rapidly spread information on children who are believed missing and in danger.
Amber Alert bulletins, reporting on children believed to have been abducted, are disseminated through radio and TV broadcasts and electronic highway signs. Florida has had 50 Amber Alert activations and 48 children have been reunited with their families, nine as a direct result of the Amber Plan.
A Missing Child Alert is issued for a child who is missing and believed to be in danger although there is no apparent sign of an abduction. For example, a Missing Child Alert would be issued for a toddler who disappears at a theme park while vacationing with parents.
Bush promoted a new e-mail alert system the state recently launched that invites people to sign up to be notified by e-mail when an Amber Alert or Missing Child Alert is issued.
"It's very early to tell how effective it will be," Bush said. "But think about it ... it has to help."
Some 13,000 people have registered for the alerts, which the governor also receives.
"My hope is that that will grow geometrically," he said. "The logic of this is you have 161/2-million people who can be part of the answer rather than passively sit by."
