As the 15th anniversary of National AMBER Alert Awareness Day approaches on Jan. 13, U.S. Cellular invites customers to sign up to receive free AMBER alerts via text message. Since its inception, the AMBER Alert program has led to the safe recovery of more than 500 children, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Statistics show that the first three hours following abduction are the most critical to the search. In 2005, the Wireless AMBER Alerts Initiative enabled the public to receive alerts via text message on their wireless devices. Wireless AMBER Alerts have the potential to reach 96 percent of the public with more than 292 million cell phone subscribers in the United States.*
“Once customers sign up for this free service, AMBER Alerts are sent to their wireless devices, so they can be made aware of a missing child in their area immediately,” said Jack Brundige, director of sales for U.S. Cellular in Tennessee. “Signing up is quick, simple and may help in bringing home a lost or abducted child.”
To sign up for wireless AMBER Alerts, visit the “About Us” section on www.uscellular.com, www.wirelessamberalerts.org, or text the word “Amber” followed by a space and your 5-digit zip code to short code 26237. Customers may also sign up for wireless AMBER Alerts by visiting any U.S. Cellular retail store.
How wireless AMBER Alerts work:
- Sign up to receive AMBER Alerts in your area by selecting the location(s) you frequent most, such as where you live and work.
- Law enforcement issues an AMBER Alert and provides the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) with the information to include in the alert.
- NCMEC formats the AMBER Alert information, which is then relayed to U.S. Cellular.
- This information is sent as a free text message.
- U.S. Cellular customers will only receive AMBER Alerts by enrolling in the program.
If you have information on a missing child, call the NCMEC toll-free Hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) 24-hours a day.
