A sign for missing three-year-old Elijah Vue at the Mikadow Theatre in Manitowoc on Sunday, February 25, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Despite what could be frustration at the lack of information being released on the search for Elijah Vue, the missing persons alert system is working how it should in this case, according to an Amber Alert expert at Fox Valley Technical College.
An Amber Alert was issued last Tuesday for 3-year-old Vue. The search has continued since then in a variety of places, but, so far, he has not been found.
Janell Rasmussen is the national Amber Alert administrator with the National Criminal Justice Training Center at FVTC.
While Amber Alerts usually contain suspect or vehicle descriptions, those don’t exist in this case. Those details are less important than getting the information out about the missing person. Having those vehicle and suspect descriptions is not mandatory for an alert to be issued, she said.
“In these cases, the Amber Alert coordinators work with local law enforcement agencies to determine whether or not an Amber Alert should be issued. We really encourage, as we’re doing training and providing technical assistance to Amber Alert coordinators and our law enforcement partners that they make decisions based on protecting the best interests of the child. Authorities will often follow that criteria and if they feel that a child is endangered and it meets that criteria of under 17 and they do have information about a child like Elijah, that they put that information out the public and they ask for their help,” she said.
In cases where a suspect or vehicle description isn’t available, all of the Amber Alert tools – such as roadside message boards – may not be used, but the available information can be shared with the public, Rasmussen said.
The first step in many missing cases is a Missing Endangered Persons Alert, which was issued in Vue’s case at about 1:30 p.m. last Tuesday, about two hours after he was reported missing. It was elevated to an Amber Alert about 90 minutes later, which is not an unusual sequence, she said.
There are no specific criteria for ending an Amber Alert when the missing person hasn’t been found. It doesn’t expire after a certain amount of time, and many states will continue to list the Amber Alert as active until there is a resolution.
While some may be frustrated with the lack of information shared by police, there’s usually a reason for that, she said – commenting in general, not on the Vue case specifically.
“It’s always difficult when there’s an investigation going on because there’s so much information that the public is not aware of, that we’re not aware of. And, so, it’s just important to be patient and wait for law enforcement to do their job. They’re obviously asking for the public to be aware that Elijah is missing, and they need their help in reporting information that they might have, but they are also conducting an investigation. It’s important to be patient with them until they can complete that process,” Rasmussen said.
The federally-funded National Criminal Justice Training Center at FVTC offers training that many local police agencies have participated in to learn about the Amber Alert and related resources.
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