INDIANAPOLIS -- On Monday, two girls from Delphi were reported missing after they were dropped off to go hiking near a trail in Carroll County. They never showed up at the location where they were supposed to be picked up and an Amber Alert for their disappearance was never issued. Why?
2 bodies found positively identified as missing teens
The report must meet the following criteria set by the U.S. Department of Justice:
- There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred
- The law enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death
- There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction for law enforcement to issue an AMBER Alert to assist in the recovery of the child
- The victim of the abduction is a child aged 17 years of younger
- The child's name and other critical elements, including Child Abduction flag, have been entered into the National Crime Information Center system
Since Saturday, at least two other children have been reported missing in Indiana and an Amber Alert was only issued for one of them. An alert was not issued when Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department began looking for Regina Williams, 37, and her 5-month-old son, who is a ward of the state. IMPD detectives, in conjunction with Indiana State Police, said they had credible information that Williams was in Kentucky and therefore an alert in Indiana would not be beneficial.Williams turned herself in to IMPD on Tuesday. Her son was not harmed.
15-year-old Chastinea Reeves of Gary was found safe Tuesday after an Amber Alert was issued. Gary police said Monday that Reeves had been abducted and they believed that she might be in extreme danger, therefore her disappearance met the criteria of an alert.
The Amber Alert for the Gary teen was the second issued in 2017 in Indiana. The first happened on January 2 in Johnson County. Police said 40-year-old John Rader abducted his 6 and 10-year-old sons from Prince's Lake. They were later found safe.
There have been 142 requests for Amber Alerts in Indiana since the program was introduced in 2003. 47 of those requests resulted in alerts being issued. 55 children were located; six were not found alive.
Four of the six alerts for 2016 occurred in October. A 17-year-old girl from Sheridan, a 7-year-old girl from Greenwood, and a 2-month-old boy from Hammond were found safe. Two children from Fort Wayne were killed. Their mother was charged with murder.
PREVIOUS | Amber Alert canceled, 17-year-old found safe | Amber Alert canceled for 7-year-old abducted from Greenwood; girl found safe |Abducted Fort Wayne children found dead in Elkhart, mother charged with murder| Amber Alert issued for missing infant in Hammond has been canceled
The highest number for Amber Alert requests was 25 in 2004; the highest number of alerts issued was eight in 2006.
Here's a look at how the numbers break down for all of the Amber Alerts in Indiana since the program was introduced in 2003. This information comes from Indiana State Police.
|
Totals to Date |
142 Requests |
47 Activations |
55 Children Located |
6 Children Deceased |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003 |
19 |
7 |
8 |
0 |
|
2004 |
25 |
7 |
11 |
0 |
|
2005 |
16 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
|
2006 |
19 |
8 |
9 |
2 |
|
2007 |
8 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
|
2008 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
|
2009 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2010 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
|
2011 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
2012 |
10 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
2013 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
2014 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
2015 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
2016 |
10 |
7 |
6 |
2 |
|
2017 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
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