Amber Alert - A Genuine Example

This evening we have a child who was abducted in Alberta. This is an example of a genuine Amber Alert. All of the media have been alerted, including social networking, and there will be illuminated signs on the highways flashing the information. Amber Alerts are only issued when there's credible information that a child has been abducted and there is concrete data about who, what, when, where and why to substantiate this. Note the information which has been provided by the police. In Madeleine's case, an Amber Alert could never have been issued because there was never any credible proof that she had been abducted, and no credible witnesses to provide concrete information.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Calgary police have issued an Amber Alert for a nine-month-old boy who is believed to have been abducted by his father.

The child has been identified as Cruz Jovanovic and his father is Christian Jovanovic.

Police say the child was taken from a northeast Calgary parking lot around 8 p.m. Friday evening after an altercation between the man and the boy’s mother.

“It’s not very often that we will issue an Amber Alert,” said Duty Insp. Michael Watterston. “In this particular case, we have a situation where the father, the biological father, forcibly took his child from the mother. He is not entitled to have custody of that child and that’s one of our primary concerns.

“And also, while the child was forcibly removed from the vehicle, we believe he did strike his head on a part of the vehicle. We’re concerned for the child’s well-being in that respect.”

Watterston said the father doesn’t have basic amenities to look after the child, such as food and diapers, and is believed to be on foot.

He said the man is known to police.

“We are aware of Mr. Jovanovic; he has had contact with police in the past, but not related to this situation.”

Jovanovic, 40, is described as five-foot-seven, 143 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair.

He has several tattoos, including a clown on his right forearm, a black panther on his left shoulder, a devil head on his left forearm, and a large Egyptian eye on his neck.

He was last seen wearing a grey T-shirt and blue jeans covered in white paint.

The boy was wearing all green clothing, including a lime green tank top.

If you have seen Jovanovic, or have any information, call 9-1-1.

There can be very few cases which qualify as genuine Amber Alerts, even less if we exclude those where a parent is involved.

Let's hope for a speedy and safe outcome to this one.

So in this case they know know that the child is with its own father.
Why bother with an Amber alert. Just find the father.
He is "wanted".

PeterMac wrote:So in this case they know know that the child is with its own father.  
Why bother with an Amber alert. Just find the father.
He is "wanted".

It's the mechanism of "finding" the father that creates the uniqueness of the Amber Alert, PM. It's not just a news flash or a news story. It's a continuing "alarm" that is repeated on radio stations, cut into the regular broadcasting like an emergency alert. It's a continuous crawl across the bottom of the tv screens, on top of regular programming, not just news. It's an alert broadcast over social media, and it employs the large digital highway signs that usually alert about weather conditions or lineups at the border crossings, wait times, etc. So it's a wholesale alert involving the public, on the same scale as something like an earthquake or a tornado. As opposed to just a mention on a newscast that the father is wanted for abducting his child.

The success behind it is that it encompasses the "golden hour" when a child is most likely to be recovered safely. It lets the abductor know that he can't hide anywhere, and most of all it alerts the public, especially those who are driving, and enables them to keep an eye out for the missing child.

As I said, it would never have been issued in Madeleine's case because there just wasn't any credible evidence to suggest an abduction, nor any useful tips.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

He's been found safe!

Conservative MEP Kay Swinburne is spearheading a cross-party Europe-wide effort to get more countries and individuals to participate in the scheme.  A former police officer, Charlie Hedges, who managed the missing and abducted children section of CEOP, is director of Amber Alert Europe.  The usual suspects also get a mention.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

If this works then great... the article claims it "makes a difference", but is that a fact? The article says, in regards to the most recent issue of an alert, that "She was successfully recovered after the alert was issued.". That statement is not the same as saying ""She was successfully recovered as a direct result of the alert being issued."

I used to work in IT as an Analyst.  What struck me was the constant stream of consultants peddling a solution looking for a problem to solve. This cross-border project will be a juicy earner for all involved.  On top of the initial implementation projects in each country there will be the ongoing servicing and upgrade contracts.  Rest assured there will have been enormous effort by those profiting by any system adopted across the EU to secure a deal.

Any 'standard' system will need to interface with various national systems and databases... not to mention the limitless number of 'gadgets', (e.g. video screens on chip and pin devices; courier's hand held delivery devices; in-store screens, etc.).  Yes, Joe Public will see the cost effective and simple to implement 'postings' appearing on their smart phones and social media... and will be oblivious to the leviathan of the IT program required to implement this beyond those devices.  I had dealings with the fall out of a PFI system that was supposed to interface with existing systems just across UK government departments. It was a £1bn project across three organisations. It was shelved once the original costings and assessments made by HMG were shown to be wildly underestimated.  n.b. The IT company that secured the deal insisted on still receiving their profit that their clever lawyers had written into the PFI deal... so they laughed all the way to the bank! That's how big IT players, who win government contracts seem to work  

In IT terms this is a cash cow that will keep on paying and paying. Whether that represents the best value for money in saving children's lives (in the short '3 hour' window of opportunity that seems to exist) will no doubt not be sufficiently debated as it is, of course, a very emotive subject. 

n.b. I see Royal Mail are involved... no doubt after just showing faces on staff-room TVs (handy for kids that have been abducted in the 3hrs critical window before the morning shift works!) the initiative will migrate to showing alerts on the tens of thousands of portable scanners used by Postmen/women. They'll need an upgrade to better hardware... Kerching!!  I recall the ubiquitous consultants knocking on Royal Mail's doors a few years ago trying to get Postmen and Postwomen's gadgets upgraded a few years ago so as they could report broken paving stones and damaged roadsigns for local councils.  No doubt the papers used then will have dates and headings changed, but the motivational paragraphs on how 'Royal Mail can be the eyes and ears of the public and adding tremendous value to society' will remain in the Amber Alert's reports.  And a few nice meals and rounds of drinks at board level should see it through AOK...

Father in Amber Alert found dead; girl still missing


RCMP say the father of a seven-year-old girl who is the subject of an Amber Alert in Saskatchewan has been found dead.
The girl, Nia Eastman, has not been found and the Amber Alert remains in effect.
Police say Adam Jay Eastman, 45, was found on a rural property in northeastern Saskatchewan near Smeaton with self-inflicted injuries.


They say there is no indication there is anybody else involved in Nia’s disappearance.
“Our focus right now is locating Nia,” said Sgt. Earl LeBlanc at a news conference in Regina. “Her whereabouts are unknown.”
Nia, who is described as Caucasian with blond, shoulder-length hair, was to have been returned home to her mother by 7 p.m. on Wednesday night.
Police are using dogs and drones in their search for Nia, but are asking the public to keep looking for her as well.
“The investigation is ongoing. We have deployed highly trained investigators and specialized equipment to the area to assist with the search for Nia,” LeBlanc said.
A vehicle believed to be operated by Eastman was found around 10:00 p.m. Wednesday on a rural property near the community of Snowden, about 240 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.
A Facebook page belonging to a Jay Eastman features several photos of a little girl smiling happily with her father. People who knew Eastman say he went by his middle name “Jay.”
On Tuesday afternoon, a day before Nia was to be returned to her mother, there was a photo posted of the girl and an unidentified woman with the super-imposed caption “My World.”
On Wednesday, the page’s cover photo was changed to a picture of a skull and crossbones with the slogan: “Leave me alone. I’ve had enough.”
There were no further posts after that.
A business owner in Choiceland, Sask., said Eastman had been renting a house there and dropped in to talk to her pretty much every day.
The woman, who did not want her name used, said Eastman and his wife had separated about two months ago. She said Nia was their only child, although Eastman had two children from a previous common-law relationship.
“He was having mental issues. Him and his wife split up. It wasn’t a good situation,” she said.
The woman said Eastman had worked at a Co-op for a while, but was currently unemployed.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Breaking news. The child has been found dead.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]