AMBER HAGERMAN

November 25, 1986 – January 15, 1996

Missing: 1/13/96 Age: 9

 

Amber Hagerman, a nine year old girl from Arlington, Texas, was abducted on January 13, 1996 while riding her bike in her grandparent’s neighborhood. Key witnesses provided police with a detailed description of the abductor and his vehicle. The police, family, volunteers, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) ran a full search for young Amber. Four days after her abduction, Amber’s body was found by a man walking his dog dead in a creek. An autopsy was done to reveal evidence on her murder. Amber had been alive for two days after her abduction, before being killed by her abductor.

Amber’s abductor and murder was never found despite efforts of a cash reward. Her case was closed in June 1997. Amber’s case inspired the creation of the AMBER Alert System (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response), a child abduction alert bulletin, in 1996. As of today the AMBER Alert System has saved over 495 children nationwide.