The North Dakota Highway Patrol (NDHP) and the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services (NDDES) will conduct the annual test of the AMBER (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert system from 2-4 p.m. CST on Wednesday, May 23. All AMBER Alert components will be tested. Advance notification is provided to avoid misinterpretation of this test as an actual AMBER Alert.
AMBER Alerts are recorded on the North Dakota Department of Transportation’s 511 Road and Weather Information System and displayed on the NDDOT roadside message signs, the nd.gov and AMBER Alert websites, and at North Dakota Lottery terminal sites. Eight AMBER Alerts involving nine children have been issued in North Dakota. Eight children were successfully recovered. Nationwide, the AMBER Alert system has successfully recovered 924 children since its inception in 1996.
An AMBER Alert instantly prompts the community to assist in the search for and safe return of an abducted child. The program is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement, state agencies, the National Weather Service (NWS), and the North Dakota Broadcasters Association to activate an urgent bulletin in child abduction cases meeting AMBER Alert criteria. NDDES, in collaboration with the NWS, uses the Emergency Alert System to provide a description of the abducted child and suspected abductor to statewide radio and television stations. AMBER Alerts are also automatically sent through Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to mobile devices. To learn more, visit the NDHP Safety and Education page.