ALERT UTAHNS RECEIVE NATIONAL HONORS ON MISSING CHILDREN'S DAY
UTAH ALSO LAUNCHES PROGRAM TO SEND 122,000 CHILD I.D. KITS
A Utah couple who quickly responded to an AMBER Alert and helped find 2 brothers will be honored at a National Missing Children's Day ceremony in Washington D.C. The U.S. Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are presenting the AMBER Citizen Award to Mike Butcher and Chasity Angell of Ivins, Utah.
On December 31, 2005, the couple spotted the car featured in an AMBER Alert the night before from Box Elder County. They immediately called 911 and followed the car. Within minutes police were able to safely recover 12-year-old Tyler Morton and his 7-year-old brother Steven.
The brothers and their custodial grandmother Judy Cline will also attend the special ceremony. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will offer the keynote address at the event. Butcher and Angell were nominated for this award by the Utah AMBER Alert Advisory Committee.
"The AMBER Alert saves lives and saves parents the stress of wondering what to do when their child is taken. This partnership between law enforcement, broadcasters and the public has done a remarkable job of stopping predators from snatching our children," says Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.
Here at home, Utah will also take notice of National Missing Children's Day by becoming part of the nation's largest child ID program, distributing 122,000 child identity kits to children in kindergarten through second grade. The kits are part of the National Child Identification Program and include an inkless fingerprint sheet; a laminated wallet card for a child's photo and physical characteristics; and a DNA collection envelope.
"When a child is taken, parents don't have the time or the ability to collect everything needed for law enforcement," says Ed Smart, a member of the Utah AMBER Alert Advisory Committee and the organizer for the child ID kit program for Utah. "These kits will save time and children's lives."
University of Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham and former BYU Football Coach LaVell Edwards are take scheduled to take part in the event. The National Child Identification Program is sponsored in Utah by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Utah Sheriff's Association and Mountain America Credit Union in partnership with the FBI and National Sheriff's Association.
Finally, the biannual test of the Utah AMBER Alert Plan will also take place sometime during the morning of May 25. The tests are conducted to make sure the child abduction alerts are immediate and effective. Members of the public can register to receive AMBER Alerts on their cell phones, pagers, computers or other text messaging devices. The service is free and available at www.bci.utah.gov. More information about Utah's AMBER Plan can be found at www.amberalert.utah.gov.
