LA lawmaker calls for overhaul of AMBER alerts after Loranger kidnapping

Baton Rouge Rep. Dixon McMakin is calling for an overhaul of Louisiana’s AMBER alert system after delays in requests for two missing Loranger girls. Baton Rouge Rep. Dixon McMakin wrote a letter to the governor calling the current system lengthy and overly complicated.

“And if there is any way to make this (AMBER Alert) process more efficient and effective in the future, we want to do that in Louisiana,” he said in an interview.

Louisiana State Police records show it took three hours to issue a report after Erin and Jalie Brunett were reported missing last week. McMakin said part of the overhaul will ensure reports are always routed to a real person.

“‘This is the direct contact of the person who is handling this case. Call them directly,'” he explained as things he would like to have incorporated into the AMBER Alert system. “Looking back on that situation (with the Brunett children), I think (that type of communication) could have saved several minutes, you know, maybe even an hour or two.”

In the letter, McMakin urged state police to work with lawmakers to improve the system and to work internally to identify any parts of the alert system itself that need an overhaul.

“In the past, they may have found something they thought could have been improved (in the system),” he said in an interview. “So bring all the stakeholders together and let’s make sure we have the best process going forward.”

Six-year-old Jalie was found alive in Mississippi a few hours after the alarm was raised, but four-year-old Erin was killed by her kidnapper.