By Katie Evans
A Utah County man was arrested in Salt Lake early Sunday morning for allegedly kidnapping his young son.
The 7-year-old boy was found and safely returned home after police issued an Amber Alert at 4 a.m. Sunday morning.
On Saturday afternoon the boy, under the custody of his grandparents, went to the movies with his family and his father, Corey Chido, who had visitation rights.
?Corey and his son were driving separately and the grandparents lost visual connection with them,? said Utah County Sgt. Yvette Rice. ?The sheriff?s office received a phone call from the victim?s grandparents about midnight Saturday night indicating that Alexander had not been brought home.?
Rice said Chido has a criminal history with drugs and has exhibited suspicious, erratic type of behavior during past visits with his son.
Investigators learned Chido called his father at 3 a.m. on Sunday and indicated he needed some money. He made some alleged statements indicating that he did not have his son with him.
?We thought this was a potential ransom situation and we issued the Amber Alert,? Rice said.
Around 6:30 a.m. Chido attempted to meet with his father at a grocery store in Salt Lake, where police arrested him under charges of protective order violation and kidnapping a child.
Rice said because police knew where Chido was located from the family, the Amber Alert was useful because law enforcement state-wide was notified immediately, and was able to work together and stay informed.
The Amber Alert is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies and local broadcasters to send an emergency alert to the public when a child has been abducted and is believed to be in grave danger, according to the Amber Alert Web site.
?The great thing about amber alert is that media broadcasting, law enforcement, and the public becomes directly informed and involved,? Rice said. ?There are screens over the freeway, some of which are specifically dedicated for amber alert information, and everyone is looking for these vehicles. You can apprehend suspects quickly.?
192 children have been recovered by using Amber Alert, said Glena Records, the education director for Polly Klaas Foundation. The Polly Klaas Foundation is a national non-profit organization that helps find missing children and advocates the implementation of the Amber Alert.
?Family abduction is one of the most frequent kinds of kidnapping, much more frequent than stranger,? Records said. ?There is a false sense that because it is a family abduction there is no harm. Family abduction is a crime; it is child endangerment and child abuse.?
Rice said Utah County has only needed to use the Amber Alert a few times and police need to follow certain criteria before one can be issued.
?We issued an Amber Alert a month or two ago in Salt Lake area and that ended in apprehension of suspect and the child,? Rice said.
While the Utah Amber Alert was not in effect during the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart in 2002, the number of states with statewide Amber Alerts has recently jumped from 14 to 50 after heavy public policy advocating and state support. Last Friday, Hawaii was the final state to implement the Amber Alert.
BYU students find the implementation of the Amber Alert a great safety device for the community. ?I think the Amber Alert is very beneficial because everyone is networking together,? said junior Brandon Schmidt studying exercise science, ?it seems like it would make it easier for people to get their children back.?
