MADISON, Wisconsin – A new tool from the Wisconsin Department of Justice is designed to make the search for missing children much easier.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul on Thursday announced the new Missing Child Alert feature, which expands opportunities to alert the public to missing children.
“The Missing Child Alert provides an additional opportunity to find missing children and bring them home safely,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul.
The Missing Children Alert was created when Governor Evers signed House Bill 272 (Wisconsin Act 2023) on April 10. The law is the “Prince Act,” named after 5-year-old Prince McCree, who disappeared in Milwaukee, and 10-year-old Lily Peters, who disappeared in Chippewa Falls.
The Missing Child alert will be distributed through the Wisconsin Crime Alert Network and a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) will be sent to mobile devices within five miles of the last known location between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.
The alert will also be distributed at Wisconsin Lottery terminals throughout the state of Wisconsin and on the Department of Transportation’s dynamic message boards.
Here are the criteria for reporting missing children
- The person at risk is under 18 years of age and is unable to return home without assistance due to a physical or mental disability. OR the person is under 10 years of age AND
- The person’s whereabouts are unknown, the disappearance occurred within 72 hours, and their situation does not warrant another alert (e.g. Amber Alert).
- The person was reported missing to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
- There is enough information that could be made available to the public and could be helpful in the search for the missing person.
If a child is missing
- Contact your local police to report the child missing.
- Law enforcement will work with the Wisconsin Department of Justice of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and other law enforcement partners to determine next steps in locating the missing child.
- DCI is the only agency that can issue a missing child report.
Sign up to receive notifications
- Sign up for Wisconsin Crime Alert and receive alerts for Missing Children, AMBER, Silver Green and Missing Endangered Persons. To sign up for Wisconsin’s free alert system, go to the Wisconsin Crime Alert website.
