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Free Amber Alerts offered to cell phone
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Cell phone users throughout the nation can now sign up to receive Amber Alerts by text message, the California Highway Patrol announced Tuesday.
America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response alerts are meant to help law enforcement recover kidnapped children in the critical first hours after an abduction by enlisting the help of the public.
The alerts are currently listed on roadside signs and aired on broadcast programs.
Since it was formed six years ago, California's Amber Alert program has helped law enforcement safely recover 148 children, according to the CHP.
To sign up for the free alerts, cell phone users can text Amber and their five-digit ZIP code to 26237, or register online at their wireless carrier's Web site.
The text message alert service is being provided by the CHP, the Wireless Foundation, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, U.S. Department of Justice and the Advertising Council.
-From staff reports
Posted by sokol_kiev on May 28, 2008 at 10:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What a fantastic idea! When it comes to child abductions, getting the word out to as many people as quickly as possible is key to finding them. I've just sent a text to sign up.
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