Verizon Wireless Customers Can Help Find Abducted Children With Wireless AMBER Alerts   5/17/2005 - 1,737 views,

BEDMINSTER, N.J., May 17 /PRNewswire/ — Verizon Wireless announced today
that it will provide its customers who opt-in with free Wireless AMBER
Alerts(TM), short text messages with information about abducted children.
Wireless AMBER Alerts will be distributed in cooperation with the National
Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and local law enforcement
agencies. The alerts will appear as text messages on a customer’s wireless
handset, and will include information about the abducted child and a telephone
number for law enforcement for the customer to call to report any information
on that child.

“Mobile service plays such a constant role in people’s lives, and Wireless
AMBER Alerts is another example of how critical information can reach you on
your wireless phone. In the case of abducted children, studies show that the
first few hours can be critical to recovering the child alive, and we know
many people keep their mobile phone with them 24/7,” said Denny Strigl,
president and CEO of Verizon Wireless. “We’re very proud to provide this
important service at no cost to our customers, and to extend our history of
cooperation with law enforcement into another critical arena.”

“Nothing is quite as rewarding as finding an abducted child and reuniting
them with their family,” said Ernie Allen, president of NCMEC. “We thank
Verizon Wireless for making available Wireless AMBER Alerts to their
customers, so we can all work together to distribute Alerts to as many people
as possible.”

Signing Up for Wireless AMBER Alerts
Verizon Wireless customers with handsets capable of receiving text
messages must choose to receive Wireless AMBER Alerts on those handsets. They
can opt-in by going to http://www.verizonwireless.com, and choosing “send TXT
Messages” from the Get It Now(R) drop-down menu, or by logging directly into
http://www.vtext.com, Verizon Wireless’ TXT Messaging site. After logging in,
customers go to the Alerts page and choose the “News and Tech” category, then
click on the Wireless AMBER Alert banner. They will then be prompted to enter
a zip code for the state or geographical area for which they want to receive
Wireless AMBER Alerts. When signing up, customers can also select times each
day when they do not wish to receive Alerts.

Wireless AMBER Alerts are issued by local law enforcement agencies - all
50 states have AMBER Alert programs. A full list of the AMBER Alert plans can
be found on NCMEC’s Web site, http://www.missingkids.com.

Verizon Wireless customers may also visit
http://www.wirelessamberalerts.org where they will be asked to enter their
wireless phone number, and then will be automatically directed to the Alerts
page on the http://www.vtext.com site. They will need to log in to the site
using their mobile number and password, and follow the steps to sign up for
Wireless AMBER Alerts.

Delivering Wireless AMBER Alerts
NCMEC, in cooperation with local law enforcement, will issue a Wireless
AMBER Alert. These Alerts will be delivered in the form of a text message to
those customers who have chosen to receive the Alert and will include
pertinent information about the abduction. Customers are then encouraged to
call the number included in the Wireless AMBER Alert or call 9-1-1 to report
any information on the abducted child to the appropriate authorities.

About Wireless AMBER Alerts
The Wireless AMBER Alerts initiative is a voluntary arrangement among the
wireless industry, including Verizon Wireless, law enforcement agencies, and
NCMEC.

AMBER stands for “America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response” and
was created in 1997 when broadcasters in the Dallas-Fort Worth area teamed
with local police to develop an early warning system to find abducted
children. President Bush authorized the national AMBER Alert program as part
of the PROTECT Act signed in 2003, formally establishing the federal
government’s role in the AMBER Alert program and appointing the Department of
Justice as the agency responsible for coordinating AMBER Alerts on a national
level. The Department of Justice has officially partnered the NCMEC,
authorizing it as the agent that coordinates and disseminates AMBER Alerts to
secondary distributors including wireless service providers. To date, AMBER
Alerts have been credited with the successful recovery of more than 200
children.