Years Since Amber Hagerman’s Disappearance

A memorial sits on the site where Amber Hagerman was abducted in Arlington, Texas, This week marks the 20th anniversary of her kidnapping.

The life-saving Amber Alert Program – which pings cell phones when a child is reported missing in much the same way as tornado or flash flood alerts do – were adopted nine months after Amber was abducted while riding her bike outside a grocery store with her brother, Ricky Hagerman.

In 1996, Simone broke down crying in the middle of a massage when she heard that Arlington police had found the body of third-grader Amber Hagerman.

Amber alerts have saved the lives of almost 800 missing or abducted children across the country, while the 20-year-old Texas case credited with creating them still hasn’t been cracked.

Though investigators have combed through 8,000 tips that poured in about the heinous crime to no avail, they said on Tuesday that they will continue to work the case until Amber’s killer is found.

“We absolutely believe that this case will be solved”, said Lt. Mike Hollier formerly of the Arlington Police Department said Tuesday.

R. Jeena Jacob/AP Amber Hagerman’s mother, Donna Williams, said her daughter would be “proud” of the life-saving alerts.

Donna Williams said Tuesday she still had some questions for Amber’s killer. “Why did you touch where you are not suppose to?”, her mother said.

The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and the safe recovery of the child. “How could you look into my little girl’s tearful eyes and do what you did to her?” The reward will remain in effect for one year. Arlington and Amber’s family need closure and justice.

The system began in Dallas-Fort Worth when broadcasters teamed with local police to develop the protocol, according to its website. “Back in ’96, there was not a lot of training that had been done on working child abduction investigations. We’ll never know. That innocence was taken from her”.

“Since the inception of the Amber Alert in 1996, 794 children have been directly recovered from an Amber Alert being issued”, Nick said.