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AMBER Alert proves key in abductions
by twinkletoes Wed Jun 25, 2014 11:00 pm
AMBER Alert proves key in abductions
Posted: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 12:06 am
By Monica Vaughan/mvaughan@appealdemocrat.com
Every second counts.
The tagline for the AMBER Alert system drives the point of the necessity of swift action when children have been abducted and are in imminent danger.
Last week, citizens responded to the call for aid and within nine minutes after an alert was issued, the suspect, Matthew Kline, was arrested and in custody with the Yuba City Police Department and three young children were safely awaiting reunification with their mother.
"We received a citizen tip within four minutes of the AMBER Alert," Yuba City police spokeswoman Shawna Pavey said.
The AMBER emergency alert system — which was developed in 1996 after a 9-year-old named Amber was abducted and murdered near her home in Arlington, Texas — was adopted statewide in Calfornia in 2002.
In California, the alert has been activated 223 times between 2002 and May 2014, resulting in 127 suspect apprehensions and 264 victims recovered. As was the case last week locally, 92 of those were parental abductions.
The emergency on Friday began when the Butte County Sheriff's Office received contact from Kline's ex-girlfriend and mother of all three children.
She reported that Kline had taken the children at about 7 a.m. from her residence in Oroville. Kline informed the ex-girlfriend at approximately 9:30 a.m. that he had the children, according to the sheriff's office.
The ex-girlfriend's family had reported bizarre and irrational behavior by Kline and was concerned that he had left the area with the children to an unknown location, according to a department statement.
Firearms had been reported as being stolen by Kline, and it was believed, based on family statements, that he was under the influence of street drugs.
During the time Kline was fleeing, he allegedly attempted to steal two vehicles with the children placed in the vehicles he was attempting to steal. The first attempt was in Paradise, and the second was at about 1 p.m. at an Oroville gas station.
He abandoned the plan after the vehicle owners confronted him, and he continued in his blue minivan.
An AMBER alert was issued at approximately 2:30 p.m., at which point thousands of residents across Northern California received computer or text alerts and media stations announced the vehicle description.
According to the CHP, the alerts are sent to smartphones capable of receiving wireless emergency alerts within the range of the activated call tower, even if the wireless customer is not from the area. Subscribers don't have to enroll to receive the alerts, as they are automatically sent from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
A citizen in Yuba City received and read the alert on his iPhone and soon after called 911 when he spotted the blue van.
Kline was arrested and booked into Butte County Jail on charges of child abduction, child endangerment, burglary, attempted vehicle theft and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bail was set at $233,000.
The children were taken to a hospital for a wellness check but appeared to be OK, authorities said..
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/amber-alert-proves-key-in-abductions/article_3f4c32e2-fb60-11e3-89a5-001a4bcf6878.html
Posted: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 12:06 am
By Monica Vaughan/mvaughan@appealdemocrat.com
Every second counts.
The tagline for the AMBER Alert system drives the point of the necessity of swift action when children have been abducted and are in imminent danger.
Last week, citizens responded to the call for aid and within nine minutes after an alert was issued, the suspect, Matthew Kline, was arrested and in custody with the Yuba City Police Department and three young children were safely awaiting reunification with their mother.
"We received a citizen tip within four minutes of the AMBER Alert," Yuba City police spokeswoman Shawna Pavey said.
The AMBER emergency alert system — which was developed in 1996 after a 9-year-old named Amber was abducted and murdered near her home in Arlington, Texas — was adopted statewide in Calfornia in 2002.
In California, the alert has been activated 223 times between 2002 and May 2014, resulting in 127 suspect apprehensions and 264 victims recovered. As was the case last week locally, 92 of those were parental abductions.
The emergency on Friday began when the Butte County Sheriff's Office received contact from Kline's ex-girlfriend and mother of all three children.
She reported that Kline had taken the children at about 7 a.m. from her residence in Oroville. Kline informed the ex-girlfriend at approximately 9:30 a.m. that he had the children, according to the sheriff's office.
The ex-girlfriend's family had reported bizarre and irrational behavior by Kline and was concerned that he had left the area with the children to an unknown location, according to a department statement.
Firearms had been reported as being stolen by Kline, and it was believed, based on family statements, that he was under the influence of street drugs.
During the time Kline was fleeing, he allegedly attempted to steal two vehicles with the children placed in the vehicles he was attempting to steal. The first attempt was in Paradise, and the second was at about 1 p.m. at an Oroville gas station.
He abandoned the plan after the vehicle owners confronted him, and he continued in his blue minivan.
An AMBER alert was issued at approximately 2:30 p.m., at which point thousands of residents across Northern California received computer or text alerts and media stations announced the vehicle description.
According to the CHP, the alerts are sent to smartphones capable of receiving wireless emergency alerts within the range of the activated call tower, even if the wireless customer is not from the area. Subscribers don't have to enroll to receive the alerts, as they are automatically sent from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
A citizen in Yuba City received and read the alert on his iPhone and soon after called 911 when he spotted the blue van.
Kline was arrested and booked into Butte County Jail on charges of child abduction, child endangerment, burglary, attempted vehicle theft and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bail was set at $233,000.
The children were taken to a hospital for a wellness check but appeared to be OK, authorities said..
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/amber-alert-proves-key-in-abductions/article_3f4c32e2-fb60-11e3-89a5-001a4bcf6878.html
twinkletoes- Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear
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