VERONA – Last week when three children were reportedly snatched Thursday morning from a bus stop in Fishersville, news of the incident quickly reverberated throughout the area, be it the local media or folks spreading the word online.
But it took authorities more than five hours to issue an Amber Alert for the missing children, ages 10, 8 and 6. A suspect was eventually arrested in Alabama and the children were found safe.
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On Tuesday, Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith addressed the delay in an email to the media but did not say why the alert took so long to be issued.
Since the alleged abduction, Smith said his office has received a number of inquiries regarding the delay of issuing the Amber Alert, which he said is a collaborative effort between local law enforcement agencies across the state, Virginia State Police and federal law enforcement agencies. State police are ultimately responsible for issuing the alert once the required information is received, according to the sheriff.
“While the Amber Alert in this case was delayed, interagency cooperation between the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office, the Virginia State Police, Alabama authorities, and federal law enforcement was initiated immediately and without hesitation to ensure the safety of the children,” Smith said in the release.
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Smith said his agency is working closely with Virginia State Police to investigate the cause of the delay, get feedback, and implement improvements to the process “to ensure such issues do not occur in the future.”
Asked about the delay in issuing the Amber Alert, Virginia State Police spokesperson Matthew Demlein said Wednesday that law enforcement agencies were searching for the missing children well before the alert was broadcast.
“The execution of an AMBER Alert allows the public to aid in a search, so it is imperative the information be accurate,” Demlein said. “Additionally, law enforcement efforts in this matter led to contact with the biological mother during the event, which was a critical piece leading to her apprehension and the safe recovery of the children.”
Demlein said for an Amber Alert to be issued, certain criteria must be met: the whereabouts of a child or children must be unknown, they are believed to have been abducted and an investigation must confirm it, there is imminent danger of serious bodily harm, and “sufficient information is available to disseminate to the public to assist in locating the child, the suspect, or the suspect vehicle.”
On the same day the children went missing, their biological mother, Shanice Davison, 35, of Evergreen, Alabama, was taken into custody without incident in the Birmingham, Alabama, area by the Alabama Highway Patrol and United States Marshals Service following a brief pursuit on Interstate 495. Davison is facing three charges of abduction.
The Amber Alert (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) was created in 1996 as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then slain, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Amber Alerts were then adopted across the nation.
The alerts have contributed to the recovery of 1,221 children, and wireless emergency alerts resulted in the rescue of at least 195 children, the justice department said.
Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter).
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Still no reason for last week’s delayed Amber Alert