Amber Alert Criteria

ALL of the following statutory criteria (GS §143B-499.7) must be met before the NC Center for Missing Persons will activate an AMBER Alert.

The child is:

• 17 years old or younger
• believed to have been abducted,
• not taken by a parent (unless the child is in danger)
• not believed to be a runaway or voluntarily missing
• and the abduction has been reported to and investigated by a law enforcement agency.

The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons is the only agency that can activate an AMBER Alert and will do so ONLY at the request of an investigating law enforcement agency. It is then the responsibility of the Center to determine whether there is sufficient identifying data to justify AMBER Alert activation. For instance, there must be sufficient descriptive data on the child, abductor and/or abductor's vehicle for the public to be on the lookout for something. It does no good to activate an AMBER Alert if sufficient information can't be provided to the public.

If the abduction of the child is known or suspected to be by a parent of the child, the Center may disseminate information through the AMBER Alert System if the child is believed to be in danger of injury or death.