According to LSP, the delay in AMBER alert notification is partly due to an incomplete application

TANGIPAHOA PARISH, Louisiana (WVUE) – Louisiana State Police are investigating why an AMBER Alert for two young children was not sent until hours after an investigation began into their disappearance following the killing of their mother.

Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards expressed the frustration of the people of southeast Louisiana on Thursday after the bodies of a woman and her daughter were discovered. Officials described the incident as a brutal and heinous murder and subsequent kidnapping.

Police in Jackson, Mississippi, arrested Daniel Callihan on Thursday evening (June 13) after the body of four-year-old Erin Brunett was discovered. A suspected accomplice, 32-year-old Victoria Cox, was also arrested.

Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade condemned Callihan, calling him a “coward” for the murders of 35-year-old Callie Brunett and her daughter Erin. U.S. Marshals discovered Erin’s body in a wooded area in South Jackson, three hours north of Loranger, Louisiana, where Callie’s body was found.

In Loranger, Callie Brunett’s father found her murdered Thursday morning, sparking an investigation and an AMBER alert. However, Sheriff Edwards said the alert was not issued until more than three hours after his office requested it.

“I can tell you I was frustrated and I reached out to the executive director of the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association. I called him and said this was unacceptable,” Sheriff Edwards said after Callihan’s arrest. “I said somebody needed to go to the state police and issue this AMBER alert. The only thing I know is it was issued within five minutes. What the reason for the delay was, I can’t say. But it was something that was very frustrating for us and I’m sure it was very frustrating for the family as well.”

State police must believe that the circumstances of the abduction indicate that the child is in danger. They must have sufficient information about the child, the abductor, and/or the suspect’s vehicle.

According to LSP, Tangipahoa officials submitted an incomplete application about an hour after requesting an AMBER alert.

Below is the schedule provided by LSP:

• 9:14 am The Louisiana State Police Investigative Support Division contacted the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office (TPSO) to offer assistance to the Louisiana Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children (LSP-LACMEC) regarding two missing children.
• 9:21 am TPSO requested LACMEC to initiate the AMBER alert process.
• 9:27 am LACMEC contacted TPSO and instructed them to complete the AMBER Alert application form and attach photographs of the children.
• 10:30 am LSP-LACMEC has received an incomplete AMBER Alert request from TPSO. Once a request is received, it must be reviewed to ensure it contains sufficient and correct information and meets the criteria for an AMBER Alert. For more details on the AMBER Alert criteria, please visit LSP’s AMBER Alert page.
• 11:45 am The LSP Fusion Center has sent a Level II At-Risk/Missing Child Alert to all law enforcement agencies throughout the state and surrounding states.
• 12:18 pm LSP Public Affairs distributed the AMBER Alert press release via email and social media.
• 12:28 pm The first AMBER alert was sent to the emergency alert system.

“The AMBER Alert activation process is comprehensive and continuous and remains active until the case is solved. Law enforcement has numerous important responsibilities in missing child cases. The Louisiana State Police acts as a facilitator and relays information to designated broadcast partners throughout the state. The AMBER Alert system is reserved exclusively for serious child abduction cases where the circumstances pose a life-threatening risk to the child and a thorough investigation of each individual case is required,” LSP said in a statement.

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Stacy Pearson, former AMBER Alert coordinator for LSP in Louisiana, says that in the U.S., it takes an average of three hours from the time information is received for an AMBER Alert to be issued, and that the safe return of a child ultimately depends on the abductor’s decision.

“The AMBER Alert system is a tool,” she said. “It’s a resource that is used by law enforcement, and in child abduction cases, all tools and resources are used. AMBER Alerts are just one of those that are used, just like search dogs, sniffer dogs, helicopters, ATVs and boats. It’s one of those tools that are used.”

Investigators found Erin’s 6-year-old sister injured but alive in a car near where Erin’s body was found. The surviving child was taken to a hospital in Jackson, where she was met by her grandparents. Chief Wade believes the area where the girls were found was used for human trafficking.

“Based on the crime scene and the way it looks, this could be a place where human trafficking took place,” said Police Chief Wade. “We see cages, small animal cages. For me as a police chief and a father, it is very, very disturbing to witness what I saw.”

Sheriff Edwards said Callihan had previously dated Callie Brunett.

“The suspect, Daniel Callihan, knew this family. He was not a complete stranger. What drove him to kill Callie and kidnap the children, I just can’t say,” he said.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to call Lt. Jacob Schwebel at 985-902-2037 or Crime Stoppers of Tangipahoa at 1-800-554-5245.

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