Pierce County Clarifies Amber Alert Message

On Sunday, April 28, at 3:30 a.m., many residents who signed up for the Pierce County Alert System received an Amber Alert on their cellular phones. The system that generated the Amber Alert on your cellular phone was not the Pierce County ALERT System.

The Amber Alert was initiated by Washington State Patrol. The Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA), that many of you received on your cellular phones, appears to have been launched by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). To learn more about how the NCMEC does this, go to the following Web Site www.amberalert.gov and select “click here”. 

The WEA system is administered by the Federal Government, and is installed as an application on newer cellular smart phones. It provides an efficient tool for sending short emergency messages. The WEA is a partnership between FEMA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and all wireless carriers, to enhance public safety. 

If you have a newer smart phone, check the owner’s manual to find the process for opting out, or turning off alerts you do not wish to receive from the WEA system. The process is different for each model of smart phone so we recommend that you read your instruction manual or call the customer service department of your wireless provider. 

Again, we are sorry if this caused an inconvenience for you, but please understand that Pierce County and Pierce County Alert did not send this message, and we do not have any control over the new Wireless Emergency Alert System. You may be happy to know that it was because of this Amber Alert message that law enforcement received a tip that led to the safe return of the child.

-Pierce County