If your phone starts making a loud noise, not a ringtone or a formal notification, it means an emergency has occurred that needs your attention. You might have heard or seen one go off.
Extreme weather like tornado warnings is connected to the wireless phone networks so any phone can receive them and potentially save lives.
One of the more haunting notifications is the Amber Alert, a notification that a child has gone missing and is suspected of being abducted.
These place entire communities – even cities – on alert to band together and be vigilant and assist the search and potential rescue.
This alert was named after one tragic event where its services could have been used the most. Amber Hagerman is the namesake of this alert, a nine-year-old girl abducted, murdered, and her killer never found.
To remind everyone of the shock of losing such a young, innocent life, the AMBER Alert was established across the United States and spread to other nations that never wanted to mourn another Amber Hagerman again.
10 /10 Before Disappearing
Amber was a happy girl with a lot of friends. She was part of a local Junior Girl Scouts troop and was the older sister to her brother, Ricky, who she played with as much as possible.
She got good grades and loved writing and riding on her bike. She was the kind of girl that any mother would love to have, that any community would be devastated to lose.
9 /10 Riding Alone
On January 13, 1996, Amber went out with her brother Ricky to the nearby parking lot of an abandoned grocery store. Neighborhood kids set up a little ramp to do jumps.
After a bit, Ricky rode back home by himself, leaving Amber to keep playing independently. Just a few minutes later, she was abducted in broad daylight.