Amber alert lifted, 2 missing children found safe and sound in Tulsa

UPDATE, 9:30 p.m.: Sand Springs police confirmed that both children involved in the Amber Alert were found safe and sound on Wednesday.

Police said they were found at a Tulsa hotel with their mother, Bregariah Phillips. It is unclear if she was arrested.

—

An Amber Alert is in effect for two children from Sand Springs.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Naliyah Smith, 10, and Phillips Nalijah, 9, were last seen leaving the school on foot with Bregariah Phillips.

Neither the date nor the place where the children were last seen has been disclosed.

OHP said Bregariah is not her custodial parent. OHP said she is 28 years old, 5’7″ tall, with red hair and brown eyes.

Naliyah Smith is 4’6″ tall, has black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, pink shorts and red hair with pink beads.

Nalijah is 4 feet 4 inches tall, has black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a red shirt, OHP said.

This alert has been activated by OHP for the Tulsa area on behalf of the Sand Springs Police Department.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.

—

When a child goes missing, a common question is why an Amber Alert was or was not issued.

There are some common misconceptions about the Amber Alert system, but here are some details to remember.

What is an Amber Alert?

Oklahoma does not issue an Amber Alert for every missing child. According to the Office of Justice Programs, certain criteria must be met before police can issue such an alert.

The child is 17 years or younger.

Law enforcement has reason to believe that an abduction or kidnapping has occurred. AMBER Alerts are not issued for runaways or situations where the person has left voluntarily unless there is a safety risk.

Therefore, law enforcement must have reason to believe that the child is in imminent danger of physical injury or death.

In order to issue an alert, law enforcement needs a description of the victim, the suspect, and the suspect’s vehicle.

The child’s name and information were entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system.

Not all criteria need to be met at the same time, but law enforcement agencies can use the guidelines to help them make decisions.

In cases where there is no kidnapping and the person has disappeared, law enforcement may issue a Missing Persons at Risk Alert. These alerts are often issued by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

What happens when the AMBER alert criteria are met?

Once law enforcement decides to issue an AMBER Alert, they notify broadcast stations as well as wireless devices such as cell phones.

How was the AMBER alert created?

The AMBER Alert system was created in 1996 when the Dallas-Fort Worth Police Department partnered with local broadcasters to develop a system to search for abducted children. AMBER stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and also refers to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was abducted and killed in Arlington, Texas, in January 1996. Over the next few years, other states adopted the AMBER Alert system.

In April 2003, President Bush signed the Protect Act, which, as he himself said, “formally established the federal government’s role in the Amber Alert system and will strengthen punishment for federal crimes against children.”

How effective was the AMBER warning system?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, as of January 2, 2023, the AMBER Alert program has helped rescue 1,127 children, and wireless emergency alerts have resulted in the rescue of 131 children. Due to the strict criteria, only a few hundred AMBER Alerts are issued each year, including 254 in 2021. For more statistics, click HERE

The U.S. Department of Justice says AMBER alerts also have a deterrent effect. Studies show that some perpetrators release the kidnapped child after hearing the AMBER alert.