Lily Peters would still be alive today had the right system been in place1.

When the 10-year-old girl went missing, the conditions of an Amber alert had not been met so no alert was triggered2. The girl's body was found near a walking trail the following morning, blocks away from her aunt's house, where she was last seen.

For an AMBER Alert to go out, the following criteria must be met3:

• There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred
• The law enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death
• There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction for law enforcement to issue an AMBER Alert to assist in the recovery of the child
• The abduction is of a child aged 17 years or younger
• The child's name and other critical data elements, including the Child Abduction flag, have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system

When a child goes missing, time is of the essence, meeting all of these requirements takes more time than authorities have to bring those children home safely4.

The Chippewa Falls community where Lily was from started a petition to create a "Lily Alert" in the state of Wisconsin5. The alert could be issued with less restrictions, in hope to prevent future tragedies in the state.

"Any parent would agree that when a child is missing even for a short amount of time and they need help then help should be sent," said the petition’s organizer, Eric Henry. "We can do better as a community and must be more proactive. We need an alert with less regulations around it so we can respond quicker to missing children."

In addition to the AMBER Alert. Florida has a Missing Child Alert6 and Tennessee has Active Missing Child/Endangered Child Alerts7. These alerts have relaxed regulations in comparison to AMBER Alerts. Similarly, the Lily Alert would not replace the AMBER Alert but supplement it with a less-restrictive channel that will ideally help bring missing kids home quickly and safely.

Wisconsin has Silver Alerts and Green Alerts. Silver Alerts8 are issued when an "adult with Alzheimer's, dementia or other permanent cognitive impairment is missing." Green Alerts9 are issued for “missing veterans who have a service-related health condition."

AMBER Alerts are currently the only child-related alerts in the state of Wisconsin.

Take a stand for missing children in Wisconsin. Sign the petition and ask state legislators to approve the Lily Alert!

More on this issue:

1. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (26 April 2022), "Lily Peters live updates: Police decline to provide additional information about juvenile suspect arrested."
2. Isak Dinesen, WAOW.com (26 April 2022), "Why no Amber Alert was issued for Lily Peters' disappearance."
3. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, "Guidelines for Issuing AMBER Alerts."
4. Kristen Miranda, WBTV (13 July 2018), "Time is of the essence when a child goes missing."
5. Sam Stroozas, MPR News (28 April 2022), "Chippewa Falls residents propose 'Lily Alert'."
6. Florida Department of Law Enforcement, "Missing Child Alert."
7. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, "Active Missing Child Alerts."
8. Wisconsin Crime Alert Network, "Silver Alerts Notify the public when an at-risk or vulnerable senior goes missing."
9. Wisconsin Crime Alert Network, Wisconsin Act 175 (2017), "Green Alerts Notify the public about Missing Veterans at Risk."