The National Runaway Switchboard statistics indicate there are 2315 runaways in Missouri. Most don’t qualify for an Amber Alert nor are they listed at the NCMEC. They don’t meet the criteria. It wouldn’t appear to be a stereotypical runaway situation although some experts argue all runaways cases are unique.
Police in Southeast Missouri say 14-year-old Brandon Lundmark took his father’s pickup truck, cash and withrew $600 from an ATM card about midnight Monday and then left the area after picking up his 12-year-old girlfriend, Brianna Williams.
AMBER ALERT ACTIVATION CRITERIA
In order for an AMBER Alert to be forwarded for dissemination via the Alert Missouri program the following criteria must be met:
1. Law enforcement officials have a reasonable belief that an abduction has occurred, which meets the definition in RSMo. 565.110 or 565.115.
2. Law enforcement officials believe that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.
3. Enough descriptive information exists about the victim and the abductor for law enforcement to issue an AMBER Alert.
4. The victim of the abduction is a child age 17 years or younger.
5. The child’s name and other critical data elements – including the child abduction (CA) flag – have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system.
Note: Parental disputes do not apply unless a possibility of harm to the child has been determined.
Missouri AMBER Alert activation should not be requested for events not meeting the criteria listed above. Events not meeting these criteria may be addressed through local alerts, Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System and National Crime Information Center entries, assistance from national (NCMEC) and state (Missouri State Highway Patrol) entities and standard press releases.
A 14-year-old southeast Missouri boy and his 12-year-old girlfriend, who apparently ran away together last week after the boy stole his father’s pickup truck, were found Monday at a home in Florida, Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said.
Charlotte County Fl 04-03-07: Missing 14-year-old safe
Mary Miles said her daughter, Victoria Caine, called her in tears to say she was safe in South Carolina and embarrassed about the two-day search caused by her decision to run away.
Her disappearance Monday morning led to a multiagency search with helicopters, mounted officers and police dogs in the area surrounding the small mobile home park where she lived off Little Farm Road, just north of the Charlotte-Lee county border.
When a child goes missing 