AMBER alert is primarily an American, Canadian and Australian term, though the idea has also been implemented in many countries. We will examine the meaning of the term AMBER alert, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences.
An AMBER alert is an emergency response bulletin that is issued to the public when a child goes missing and is presumed to be in danger. Most often, an AMBER alert is issued in the case of a suspected abduction, whether by a relative or a stranger. However, an AMBER alert may be issued simply because a child has gone missing. In an AMBER alert, a geographical area is targeted so that members of the public residing in the area may be especially vigilant. An AMBER alert is immediate and temporary, and is broadcast over television, radio, by text and on electronic billboards on roadways through the Emergency Broadcast System. The AMBER alert was named for Amber Hagerman, who was abducted and murdered by a stranger in Arlington, Texas, in 1994. The Oxford English Dictionary spells the name AMBER with all capital letters, as it is also an acronym, America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. However, the term is often seen spelled simply as a name, Amber alert. A similar program in the United Kingdom is Child Rescue Alert.
Examples
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office has activated the New York State AMBER Alert and is investigating a child abduction that occurred on Joy Road, in Sodus, New York at about 9:48 a.m. on May 16. (The Utica Observer-Dispatch)
An AMBER Alert was issued Thursday afternoon and was canceled more than six hours later, around 8:30 p.m., when the pair was found at a Geneva residence in Ontario County, said Lt. Matt Maloney of the Schuyler County Sheriff’s Office. (The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle)