Why you didn’t get an Amber Alert on your phone

Notice of Tuesday’s early morning Amber Alert activated over the kidnapping of a Wichita mother and three kids didn’t get sent to cellphones – even though that’s an option in child abduction situations.

Why?

It turns out someone missed a procedural step, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a written response to questions, and wireless emergency alerts – which are what are sent to cellphones – “were not broadcasted as intended.”

“This lapse occurred due to human error in the middle of the night, but it is being taken very seriously,” the KBI said, adding that it reviews every Amber Alert to look for problems and would be doing so with Tuesday’s.

The Amber Alert was activated at about 3 a.m. after 2-year-old Grayson Gifford, 8-year-old Madison Ruiz, 8-year-old Aiden Ruiz and their mother, Melissa Gifford, were taken from a home in the 1800 block of South Lexington during a robbery late Monday night.

They were later located safe at a west Wichita hotel and their alleged abductors taken into custody.

Had cellphone notifications been sent out, users who haven’t opted out of receiving them – you can do this in your phone settings – would have heard a loud tone and then received a written message with the Amber Alert information.

The KBI said even though cellphone users didn’t receive alerts, it did take other steps to notify the public that the family was missing, including sending their photos and information to news organizations and sharing information on social media.

It also asked for information to be posted on billboards and shared on partnering organization’s websites, the agency said in a statement.

Bob Lowery of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said Kansas did contact the organization’s call center asking for help disseminating information about the missing Wichita family but didn’t ask for the wireless emergency alert system to be activated, which is why no one received cellphone alerts.

The cellphone notifications aren’t automatic, he added, because law enforcement agencies, not the center, decide what their needs are and what audience they need to reach with Amber Alert information.

“During the night, a lot of times agencies don’t request that,” Lowery said, referring to activation of the wireless emergency alert system, “because people are at home asleep.”

Related coverage:

The story behind Tuesday’s Amber Alert

Amber Alert case began as robbery call to 911, police say

Three Wichita children and mother found safe after Amber Alert

UPDATE: 3 children, mother in Amber Alert found safe, police say

This story was originally published December 6, 2016 at 1:11 PM with the headline "Why you didn’t get an Amber Alert on your phone."