Averitt on the alert for missing kids

Averitt Express recently joined the AMBER Alert Highway Network, a nationwide initiative to help recover abducted children. Part of the AMBER Alert program, the highway network uses the Qualcomm mobile communications system to send out AMBER Alerts to truck drivers in the alert area, expanding the number of people on the lookout for abducted children.

A voluntary partnership among law enforcement agencies, broadcasters and transportation agencies, the AMBER Alert (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) program issues urgent bulletins in the most serious child abduction cases and provides information that can help in the search for the child, suspected abductor and vehicle. "Truck drivers have already proven to be a valuable asset in monitoring the nation's roads for missing children," says Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. "Qualcomm's mobile communications solution helps increase the reach, and therefore the potential effectiveness, of the AMBER Alerts. Just one driver knowing what to look for on the road could assist law enforcement in the safer recovery of an abducted child."

Each of the 50 states has a statewide AMBER Alert program, as do the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since the program's inception in 1997, AMBER Alerts have been credited with the successful recovery of more than 270 children. The AMBER Alert Highway Network has been growing steadily since its launch in March 2006.