Utahns will get an AMBER Alert Thursday — but this time there is ‘no action required’

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Heads up, you’ll likely be getting an AMBER Alert on your phone tomorrow as part of a statewide test.

According to the Utah Department of Public Safety, AMBER Alerts will be sent out between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 3. The alert system is sending out the test notification “to ensure it functions properly following recent upgrades.”

These upgrades include integrating with FEMA’s Emergency Alert System, a national public warning system. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), its system uses radio, TV broadcasters, cable, and satellite operators “to provide the President with the capability to address the American people within 10 minutes during a national emergency.”

The test will appear on phones, TVs, radios, and highway signs. DPS said the purpose of the test is to verify that the recent upgrades went into effect and that the alert reaches Utahns quickly. The public does not need to take any action on the test alert.

“We appreciate your cooperation as we work to keep Utah’s AMBER Alert system effective,” DPS said.

America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response — or AMBER — Alerts are part of a nationwide system that began in 1996, developed to help authorities locate abducted children.

The system was first implemented in Texas by local broadcasters and law enforcement after the kidnapping and killing of Amber Hagerman. The alert system then spread to the rest of the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

In Utah, authorities will send out an AMBER Alert if they believe someone under the age of 17 has been abducted and faces “imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.” Authorities also need to have some sort of information available that could help the public in safely locating the victim or suspect.

The system was most recently used in Utah last week to locate two children who were believed to be in “imminent danger” after their mother was found dead in a burning house. The children were later found safe and the suspect was taken into custody.

At the time, police thanked everyone who called in tips to help locate the children.

“A tragedy occurred tonight,” Casey Warren, Riverdale Police Chief, told ABC4 that night. “But we do have a win, where we were able to locate those children and get them back to their family.”