WENATCHEE, Wash. — A petition demanding changes to the AMBER Alert system is gaining traction online.
Whitney’s Law would ensure that the alert system includes all at-risk children – regardless of whether a parent is the abductor.
It’s named after Whitney Decker, a Wenatchee mother of three children who were abducted in May by their father, Travis – after he picked them up for a scheduled visit.
Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia were found dead a few days later at a campground outside of Leavenworth.
Travis has yet to be found.
An AMBER Alert wasn’t issued for the Decker girls because authorities said the case did not meet the criteria for one.
Each state has its own AMBER Alert plan, but the U.S. Department of Justice recommends:
- There must be reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred.
- The law enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.
- There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction for law enforcement to issue an AMBER Alert to assist in the recovery of the child.
- The abduction is of a child aged 17 years or younger.
- The child’s name and other critical data elements, including the Child Abduction flag, have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system.
Instead, law enforcement issued an Endangered Missing Persons Advisory for the Decker girls.
Had an AMBER Alert been issued, a Wireless Emergency Alert would’ve been automatically pushed out to millions of cellphone users, asking people to keep an eye out for them.
The online petition, addressed to Washington State police, argues that the current Amber Alert standards are too narrow.
“Right now, the AMBER Alert criteria exclude too many high-risk situations, especially involving non-stranger parental abductions, even when a history of abuse or red flags are present,” the petition states. “If the rules remain unchanged, we risk allowing more children to fall through the cracks—children who could be saved if only their cases were treated with the urgency they deserve. We must not let another parent feel Whitney’s unimaginable pain. The system failed her family—and it can fail others too if we don’t act.”
As of Monday morning, there are more than 4,700 signatures on the petition.
You can view the full petition here.
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