AMBER Alert “began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police.” It is named for Amber Hagerman, 9, who was abducted while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas. The name also stands for “America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.”
Police agencies across the country asked the Arlington Police Department for guidance on building their own plans. Oklahoma started the first statewide plan in 1999, and Florida followed in 2000. By 2006 “There are a total of 116 AMBER Alert plans across the U.S.”