Only a law enforcement agency can issue a regional or state Amber Alert. If your child is missing, please contact 9-1-1 immediately and then Get Help Now.
If you are a law enforcement officer and your agency needs to issue a Houston Regional Amber Alert, please call (832) 269-2553 for 24/7 support and activation assistance.
Houston Regional Amber Alert System Criteria
The following criteria must be met to activate the Houston Regional Amber Alert System (HRAAS).
- Is the child 17 years of age or younger, whose whereabouts are unknown, and whose disappearance law enforcement has determined to be unwilling which poses a credible threat to the child’s safety and health; and if abducted by a parent or legal guardian, was the abduction in the course of an attempted murder or murder?
OR
Is this child 13 years of age or younger, who was taken (willingly or unwillingly) without permission from the care and custody of a parent or legal guardian by:
- Someone unrelated and more than three years older,
OR - Another parent or legal guardian who attempted or committed murder at the time of the abduction?
- Is this child in immediate danger of sexual assault, death or serious bodily injury?
- Has a preliminary investigation verified the abduction and eliminated alternative explanations for the child’s disappearance?
- Is sufficient information available to disseminate to the public to help locate the child, a suspect, or the vehicle used in the abduction?
Missing adults believed to have been kidnapped may qualify for a Houston Regional CLEAR Alert issued by Texas Center for the Missing.
Missing individuals diagnosed with an intellectual or mental disability may qualify for a Houston Regional Endangered Missing Persons Alert issued by Texas Center for the Missing.
Missing adults 65 years of age or older with a diagnosed impaired mental condition may qualify for a Silver Alert issued by Texas Center for the Missing.
For more general information on the Amber Alert program, read Amber Alert FAQ.
How to Issue a Houston Regional Amber Alert
The Houston Regional Amber Alert System has served the 14 counties surrounding the Houston area since 2000 and is managed by Texas Center for the Missing. Learn more about the Houston Regional Amber Alert.
If your agency feels an abducted child has been taken from, or may be located in, the Greater Houston area, this is the appropriate Amber Alert to issue. Regional Amber Alerts are distributed to local, state, and national law enforcement agencies, local media outlets, TCM’s Amber Alert Partners, Texas Department of Transportation, the National Weather Service, and to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
1. Make sure you have all the information needed to issue the Amber Alert handy, including physical description of both the victim and suspect, a vehicle description if possible, and photos.
2. Contact our Amber Alert Coordinator at (832) 269-2553 for 24/7 activation assistance.
3. Once the Amber Alert is issued regionally, TXDOT will activate the Dynamic Message Boards on the Freeway if a License plate is known. If law enforcement requests a WEA (Wireless Emergency Alert) TCM will submit the written request to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), who pushes the WEA out to cell phones using the Federal Emergency Alert System.
4. To cancel an alert, contact our Amber Alert coordinator at 832.269.2553. He will cancel the Regional Alert, notify our partners of the cancellation, and will provide your agency with victim support resources or media liaison services as needed.
Contact our Emergency Alert coordinator at (832) 269-2553
for 24/7 support and activation assistance.
How to Issue a Texas Statewide Amber Alert
The Texas AMBER Alert Network has been in operation since 2003 and is managed by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Statewide Amber Alerts are distributed to local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, local media outlets, the National Weather Service, Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Lottery Commission, Independent Bankers Association of Texas, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
If your agency believes an abducted child may be located in the Great Houston/Galveston 14-County Region, call the TCM Amber Alert Coordinator at 832-269-2553. If TCM issued the Regional Amber Alert, and law enforcement believes the abducted child was taken to a different region in Texas or an adjacent state, TCM can contact the Fusion Center in that state and request they reissue our Regional Amber Alert in their state. If you believe the child was removed from the Houston/Galveston 14-county region, and could be in an unknown location in Texas, a Texas Statewide Amber Alert should be requested through the Texas DPS Fusion Center.
1. Make sure you have all the information needed to issue the Amber Alert handy, including physical description of both the victim and suspect, a vehicle description if possible, and photos. Review the full list of Statewide Amber Alert request requirements.
2. Fill out the State form to request a statewide Amber Alert. Please note the statewide submission and issuance process may take at the most a few hours. Please consider issuing a Regional Amber Alert as well for immediate issuance.
3. Contact our Amber Alert Coordinator at (832) 269-2553 for statewide issuance support, local abduction response resources, and media liaison services.
Additional Amber Alert Resources
Texas Amber Alert Network Website
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) Website
Note: Texas State law requires law enforcement to notify NCMEC immediately but not greater than 2 hours of any missing child report. NCMEC’s phone number is 1-800-843-5678.
Victim Services
For assistance with Crime Victims’ Compensation or any other victim services, please contact Texas Center for the Missing Case Manager at (713) 599-0235 or mrangel@tcftm.org.