By Zachary West
Jennifer Triplett”s son Nicolas is safe at home with her because of the Utah abduction alert system.
In a highly publicized case, a baby was taken night from the Salt Lake City ZCMI Center food court and was returned to the YWCA.
“If it weren”t for the Rachael Alert, my son wouldn”t be here now, and he most likely wouldn”t be alive,” Triplett said. “It”s amazing; I”ve never seen a community pull together so much to bring one baby home.”
On Jan. 29, Salt Lake City Police issued the Rachael Alert, and within five hours, three month-old Nicolas Triplett was back in his mother”s arms.
Police hotlines were flooded with information and tips leading to the arrests of three suspects, Shurtleff said.
The lead that ended the search, however, did not come from a hotline, but from a regular citizen who acted after seeing the alert.
Jeff Salt, a Salt Lake citizen said he was traveling between meetings for his job when he saw the alert.
“I was armed with my cell phone and the infrastructure of the system,” Salt said. “I responded to the highway sign that said ”child abduction alert” and I called Salt Lake dispatch. I became pro-active because I work along the Jordan River, and the suspects were subscribed as transients along the Jordan River.”
Salt saw the suspects with the infant in down town Salt Lake on 300 south and half a block from the YWCA. Salt called Salt Lake Dispatch, told them the location of the suspects and waited for the suspects at the YWCA.
“I am a living example that, a regular citizen, armed with technology, can help the system work,” Salt said. “You can”t let these signs go by and not pay attention.”
State officials came together Monday to honor the effectiveness of the program.
“We are here to celebrate,” said Mark Shurtleff, Utah State attorney general at a press conference on Capitol Hill. “We are here to let people know that because of the efforts of Utahns the Rachael Alert works.”
Shurtleff said part of that effort came from the Bureau of Criminal Identification, a branch of the Division of Public Safety. The bureau issued 7,300 flyers with information about the infant and suspects.
The Utah Department of Transportation acted as well.
“We had 61 highway signs and our web page posting information in about 12 minutes from the time we got our alert from Salt Lake City Police,” said Dennis Simmons of the Utah Department of Transportation.
Salt Lake City Chief of Police Rick Dinse said the Rachael Alert is an effective tool for law enforcement.
“The first time we were able to use the system was during Elizabeth Smart”s abduction,” Dinse said. “The second time around, Salt Lake City was more prepared, knew the process and effectively executed the Rachael alert.”
Shurtleff said Ed Smart, father of Elizabeth Smart, is the leading advocate for a national child abduction alert system.
“This is a no-brainer, it should just happen, and I have confidence that it will happen,” Smart said. “But I am proud and grateful we have these people here to make this happen; this is what it is all about. It needs to happen to now.”
Smart said he hopes everyone will send a message to Washington that this system works and saves children”s lives.
According to a press release, the U.S. Senate voted 92-0 in favor of a national abduction alert system. President Bush has expressed his support and wants it to become law, but the legislation must still be passed in the House.
The Rachael Alert is known nationally as the Amber Plan and was launched April 2, 2002 in Utah. It is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement officers, broadcasters and state agencies to use the Emergency Alert System when a child, under the age of 16, has been abducted or believed to be in danger.
The Amber Plan was created in 1996 after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was kidnapped and murdered while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas.
The Rachael Alert, a branch of the Amber Plan, is named after Rachael Runyan. Rachael was kidnapped Aug. 26, 1982 in Sunset, Davis County, while she was playing with her brother. She was three years old.
When Utah adopted an emergency abduction plan, only nine states in the United States utilized the plan and have saved 16 children since 1996. The Rachael Alert was publicized during the Elizabeth Smart abduction and other states wanted to implement the system in their state. Today, 34 states use a child abduction alert system, and 44 children have been recovered.
“I hope students at BYU will subscribe to the alert system and become actively involved as part of the community,” Salt said.
Information about the Rachael Alert is available at www.commuterlink.utah.gov. Students can subscribe and receive alerts via e-mail or pagers.
