VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — In the early hours of a child abduction case out of Virginia Beach that ended in a fatal crash outside of Washington, D.C., software "complications" led to incomplete messaging through the Amber Alert notification system.
Just before 2 a.m., Virginia State Police issued an Amber Alert for three children allegedly abducted from a home in Virginia Beach by Dana Plummer.
Those on the receiving end of the notification may have encountered the following message:
"The Virginia State Police and the Virginia Missing Children Clearinghouse have issued an A"
Amber Alert notifications may contain information for what the public should look out for such as information about the suspected abductor, the abducted child, the last known location, the vehicle they may be in or the clothing they were last seen wearing.
However, some who received an Amber Alert notification Thursday morning in the Hampton Roads region may not have received a notification that contained this kind of information.
According to a Virginia State Police spokesperson, this is because of "activation complications" with a program known as Everbridge.
The Virginia State Police understands that immediacy is imperative when receiving a request to issue and activate an AMBER Alert. Activation complications were encountered with the Everbridge software and the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) platform. However, the AMBER Alert was successfully activated, which resulted in the State Police recovery of the children and apprehension of the suspect.
Virginia Beach Police reported that Plummer's vehicle was spotted in northern Virginia by a citizen who recognized the license plate from the Amber Alert. That recognition came roughly 7 hours after the initial Amber Alert notification.
VSP officials said they informed FEMA of the issue, since they oversee the implementation of the IPAWS platform.
State Police has been in contact with FEMA, who operates and controls IPAWS, regarding some of the incomplete messaging, and we anticipate a quick and thorough resolution.
According to the latest Amber Alert report, compiled by the Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children, there were 211 Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) activations in 2023:
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) can be activated by agencies connected to or designated by an AMBER Alert plan, which could include emergency management agencies, law enforcement, or directly by the AMBER Alert coordinator.
According to the report, cellphone users will see "either a 90- or 360-character message displayed on their phone with an alert tone."
The initial Amber Alert issued in the Plummer incident, including spaces, is 90 characters.