State A.G. urges Wisconsinites residents to follow @AMBERAlert

MADISON (WITI) -- Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen is encouraging Wisconsinites to follow @AMBERAlert on Twitter. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) announced the launch of the Twitter handle on Monday, January 13th -- which is AMBER Alert Awareness Day.

When an AMBER Alert is activated in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) -- Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) notifies the Dane County Public Safety Communication Center, which sends the alert to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for secondary distribution, which will now include Twitter.

In Wisconsin, the AMBER Alert has been activated 23 times since the program began in 2003, and has safely recovered more than 30 children.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 600 children have been rescued since the AMBER Alert program’s creation in 1996.