By Jacob Lowell
The abduction of Elizabeth Smart marked the debut of a warning system called Rachael Alert, which was designed to disseminate important information to the public in the case of child abduction.
'What we have here, really, is the fastest distribution of information to the widest audience ever in the state of Utah,' said Ric Cantrell, community action director for the Utah Attorney General''s Office.
Rachael Alert is a cooperative effort between law enforcement and the Utah Broadcasters Association, said Dale Zabriskie, executive director of the Utah Broadcasters Association.
The alert goes out over the Emergency Alert System, the same system the Weather Bureau uses to issue storm and flood warnings.
'The beauty of Rachael Alert is that the EAS that we use is already in place,' Zabriskie said.
Despite the system''s historic debut, Cantrell is hesitant to declare victory.
'We''re not celebrating. We will celebrate when the girl comes home safely,' he said. 'The success of the Rachael Alert is when a child''s life is saved.'
Cantrell said they have received suggestions for improving the alert system. A truck driver suggested broadcasting the alert on CB station 19. Another truck driver suggested that the girl''s picture be faxed to all the truck stops in the state.
'That''s why citizen input is so important, because they will think of things that people in government won''t,' he said.
Utah is the ninth state to implement a child abduction warning system. The plan originated in Texas in 1996. Texas law enforcement and media came together to devise a way to get word out quickly after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was kidnapped. They named it the Amber Plan.
Utah''s alert system was named after Rachael Runyan, who was kidnapped in 1982 from a park behind her home. The three-year-old''s body was found 24 days later in a Morgan County stream, and the killer remains at large.
Rachael''s mother, Elaine Runyan-Simmons, has worked for 20 years as a spokeswoman for missing children and has pushed for legislation to protect children.
Runyan-Simmons understands the importance of those first few hours after a child is abducted.
'The Rachael Alert gives children an extra chance to survive. The statistic is that 74 percent of children abducted by strangers are killed within three hours of being taken,' she said.
Runyan-Simmons said she can relate to what the Smart family is going through.
'It doesn''t make any sense. You have a daughter and the next day she''s gone and you have no place to put it in your mind,' she said.