MADISON, Wis. — The Chippewa Falls community wants a new type of alert system for missing children following the death of 10-year-old Lily Peters in April.
An online petition calling for the change has made progress. However, there is a still a long road ahead.
Last week, a small meeting was held among legislators and law enforcement, as well as a few community leaders, to discuss how a so-called "Lily Alert" system might work.
In April, when Peters went missing, no AMBER Alert was issued because the circumstances of her disappearance didn't qualify for one.
According to the Dept. of Justice, in order for an AMBER Alert to be issued, the following criteria must be met:
- There is 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
So far, more than 189,000 signatures were collected on a Change.org petition, which called for a new type of alert that could be issued with fewer restrictions than an AMBER Alert.
Following last week's meeting, the organizer of that petition, Eric Henry, told supporters in a online post that discussion was had over whether a proposed alert would go out statewide like an AMBER Alert or be pinpointed to specific communities and regions like a Silver Alert.
Henry said those who attended the meeting also talked about what criteria would be needed to send a new type of alert and whether law enforcement would need approval from the DOJ first.
“There’s definitely a lot to think about,” Henry explained in an online post. “We updated some wording, and it sounds like they are going to get with other police jurisdictions to see what they think of the proposal, as well as the DOJ. This is definitely going to take some time, but it’s given me a little more hope that we will get a change in place that will be another resource for keeping our children safe.”
Since state lawmakers have already adjourned for the year, the proposal can't move forward legislatively until January at the earliest.
Those advocating for the proposal said in the meantime, the goal is to get a framework in place over the summer so a bill can be introduced early next year.