Amber Alert a few days ago (1 Viewer)

[bclemms]

A few days ago I was looking at the weather on the national weather service and noticed and Amber Alert in SE Texas and SW La. I almost always click on them and read when I see them. This particular one struck me as quite odd almost instantly and questioned if this is what the system was designed for. An hour or two after the alert was issued it was canceled. Here is the original alert.

Child Abduction Emergency



WOUS44 KAMA 040258
CAEAMA
TXC011-065-087-111-117-129-179-195-205-211-233-295-341-357-359-
375-381-393-421-483-040600-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
CHILD ABDUCTION EMERGENCY
TEXAS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
858 PM CST SUN MAR 3 2013

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE TEXAS
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.

THIS IS A CHILD ABDUCTION ALERT ISSUED BY THE TEXAS AMBER ALERT
NETWORK.

THE SHELBY COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE IS SEARCHING FOR IESHA NICOLE
HUBBARD...BLACK FEMALE...17 YEARS OLD...DATE OF BIRTH JANUARY
28...1996...5 FEET...2 INCHES...230 POUNDS...BLACK HAIR...AND BROWN
EYES. VICTIM WAS LAST SEEN AT 1010 PM ON MARCH 2 2013...AT 1821
COUNTY ROAD 3754...CENTER...TEXAS WEARING A WHITE HOODIE WITH TENAHA
TIGERS ON HER BACK. SHE HAS HER NAME TATTOOED ON HER RIGHT UPPER LEG.

SUSPECT IS DRIVING A SILVER...FORD...TAURUS.

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS BELIEVE THIS CHILD TO BE IN GRAVE OR
IMMEDIATE DANGER.

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION REGARDING THIS ABDUCTION...CONTACT THE
SHELBY COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE AT 9 3 6 5 9 8 5 6 0 0. .

The person she got in the car with was her boyfriend and she was later "found" at her boyfriends house.

I don't know. It rubbed me the wrong way to see an amber alert on a 17 year old with a tatoo after she willingly got into a car with her boyfriend.

 

[NYCsaint]

A few days ago I was looking at the weather on the national weather service and noticed and Amber Alert in SE Texas and SW La. I almost always click on them and read when I see them. This particular one struck me as quite odd almost instantly and questioned if this is what the system was designed for. An hour or two after the alert was issued it was canceled. Here is the original alert.



The person she got in the car with was her boyfriend and she was later "found" at her boyfriends house.

I don't know. It rubbed me the wrong way to see an amber alert on a 17 year old with a tatoo after she willingly got into a car with her boyfriend.

i can see both sides. if you are the parent of a 17 year old and she has been taken away by someone you dont trust.... im not sure the tattoo matters much.

 

[gwballin]

A few days ago I was looking at the weather on the national weather service and noticed and Amber Alert in SE Texas and SW La. I almost always click on them and read when I see them. This particular one struck me as quite odd almost instantly and questioned if this is what the system was designed for. An hour or two after the alert was issued it was canceled. Here is the original alert.



The person she got in the car with was her boyfriend and she was later "found" at her boyfriends house.

I don't know. It rubbed me the wrong way to see an amber alert on a 17 year old with a tatoo after she willingly got into a car with her boyfriend.

I would like to think that the entity issuing the Amber Alert did so in good faith. It appears that the person that reported her missing knew her based on the description so I would imagine that person would also know about the boyfriend.

That said, unless the witness saw the boyfriend physically put her in the car against her will or something equally concerning I suspect the witness is a parent/family member that does not approve of the relationship and got police involved when then they should not have been.

Without additional information I'm not willing to determine any wrong doing took place.

 

[jrdbrn]

5'2" 230lbs?

 

[DavidM]

I don't know. It rubbed me the wrong way to see an amber alert on a 17 year old with a tatoo after she willingly got into a car with her boyfriend.

Not sure what the tattoo has to do with your concern.

And getting into a car "willingly", or appearing to, doesn't determine that a person isn't acting out of fear, or under threat of harm, depending on the situation.

Other than that, she's a legal minor who was considered to be in "grave or immediate danger" for whatever reason. It doesn't seem to be the typical case but I don't know that it falls outside of what the system was intended for.

Knowing more circumstances might paint a different picture, either way.

 

[Zack Lee]

my first thought when I read it was is the girl mentally handicapped in some way. If they actually call the guy a boyfriend, then probably not but if there was some handicap then I would feel fine about the alert. Anyway, you have to at least consider that there may have been circumstances that would call for it.

However, the very fact that it was taken down so fast may mean that the circumstances were reviewed.

 

[bclemms]

Not sure what the tattoo has to do with your concern.

And getting into a car "willingly", or appearing to, doesn't determine that a person isn't acting out of fear, or under threat of harm, depending on the situation.

Other than that, she's a legal minor who was considered to be in "grave or immediate danger" for whatever reason. It doesn't seem to be the typical case but I don't know that it falls outside of what the system was intended for.

Knowing more circumstances might paint a different picture, either way.

Dont you have to be 18 to get ink? Just shows that this isnt exactly a child. She is old enough to consent for sex. There may have been reason for concern but as soon as I read the alert I immediately thought it didnt add up to what the amber alert was designed for. After she was found with her boyfriend it just reaffirmed my feelings.

Im not saying the alert shouldnt have been issued withouut knowing more, just found it really odd and it should really be looked into.

 

[bclemms]

i can see both sides. if you are the parent of a 17 year old and she has been taken away by someone you dont trust.... im not sure the tattoo matters much.

I can see it from a parents view but there is a reason parents cant issue an alert.

 

[DavidM]

Dont you have to be 18 to get ink? Just shows that this isnt exactly a child. She is old enough to consent for sex. There may have been reason for concern but as soon as I read the alert I immediately thought it didnt add up to what the amber alert was designed for. After she was found with her boyfriend it just reaffirmed my feelings.

Im not saying the alert shouldnt have been issued withouut knowing more, just found it really odd and it should really be looked into.

If there appears, at the time, to be a credible concern about the safety of a minor, I just don't see why the system shouldn't be geared to facilitate an alert.

Getting into hypothetically exclusionary conditions -- like having a tattoo and getting in a car "willingly" -- could pose a needless set of hurdles in getting alerts out when time really matters.

She's a minor. Somebody thought she was in immediate danger. I think it's a better system when it bends in the direction of helping in a situation like this rather than setting up conditions and giving way to subjectivity that could result in a needlessly delayed response, or worse.

 

[insidejob]

Dont you have to be 18 to get ink? Just shows that this isnt exactly a child. She is old enough to consent for sex. There may have been reason for concern but as soon as I read the alert I immediately thought it didnt add up to what the amber alert was designed for. After she was found with her boyfriend it just reaffirmed my feelings.

Im not saying the alert shouldnt have been issued withouut knowing more, just found it really odd and it should really be looked into.

did you wait until you were 21 to drink your first beer?

 

[JimEverett]

17 and under is in the amber alert guidelines.

 

[antipop]

17 and under is in the amber alert guidelines.

yeah, but only if they don't have tattoos

 

[bclemms]

did you wait until you were 21 to drink your first beer?

Nope.

I'm not saying a tattoo should eliminate any concern or make someone ineligible for amber alerts. I always just think about strange men, candy and vans when I think about amber alerts. Then again, it is pretty clear this woman wasn't immune to the temptation of candy.

Just sounded an aweful lot like a teen being a teen.


Here are the guidelines to issue an Amber Alert.
AMBER Alert - Guidelines

1) Law Enforcement has to confirm an abduction.
In this case the girl willingly got in the car of her boyfriend.
definition of abduction

1.The action or an instance of forcibly taking a person or persons away against their will.
2.(in legal use) The illegal removal of a child from parents or guardians.

She wasn't removed and she wasn't forced. So how did Law Enforcement confirm an abduction if no abduction ever took place.

2) Risk of serious bodily harm or death
Girl was found willingly hanging out with her boyfriend at his house and meets Texas' age of consent laws.
How did law enforcement assumed bodily harm or death? Has riding in a car become that dangerous?

3) Sufficient description information

4) Age of child must be 17 or under

5) NCIC data entry.


Off the same Department of Justice website

To allow activations in the absence of significant information that an abduction has occurred could lead to abuse of the system and ultimately weaken its effectiveness

Pretty sure that sums this case up perfectly.

 

[Big_L]

Nope.

I'm not saying a tattoo should eliminate any concern or make someone ineligible for amber alerts. I always just think about strange men, candy and vans when I think about amber alerts. Then again, it is pretty clear this woman wasn't immune to the temptation of candy.

Just sounded an aweful lot like a teen being a teen.


Here are the guidelines to issue an Amber Alert.
AMBER Alert - Guidelines

1) Law Enforcement has to confirm an abduction.
In this case the girl willingly got in the car of her boyfriend.
definition of abduction

She wasn't removed and she wasn't forced. So how did Law Enforcement confirm an abduction if no abduction ever took place.

2) Risk of serious bodily harm or death
Girl was found willingly hanging out with her boyfriend at his house and meets Texas' age of consent laws.
How did law enforcement assumed bodily harm or death? Has riding in a car become that dangerous?

3) Sufficient description information

4) Age of child must be 17 or under

5) NCIC data entry.


Off the same Department of Justice website


Pretty sure that sums this case up perfectly.

Force doesnt have to mean physical force. Boyfriend in question could have said go outside and get in the car or I'll take away your twinkies, who knows. Maybe there is some LE sensitive info about the BF. Lot of factors.

 

[LSSpam]

bclemms is doing a poor job of it I think, but he is making a reasonable point.

If we're flooded with amber alerts regarding every teenager who wanders off without parental notification or permission, no one will care or pay attention. While "once" is not a big deal, if all instances like the above described situation are "alerted" it will devalue the impact of the alert. The number of 17 year old girls who go to their boyfriends house without notifying their parents has to be considerable on a daily basis.

I think it's a reasonable objection. Sure you want to err on the side of caution, but at the same time if you devalue the impact of the alert it's worthless to everyone.