Search for missing Calgary boy prompts concerns over when Amber Alerts are issued
The search for a missing neurodivergent boy in Calgary has sparked a public debate over the criteria for issuing Amber Alerts. Families of other missing children are calling for legislative changes to allow police more flexibility in issuing alerts.
Why it matters
The case highlights the gap between rigid legal criteria for emergency alerts and the practical needs of search and rescue operations for vulnerable individuals.
Two days after an Amber Alert was issued for a 11 year old Calgary boy who is non-verbal, an intense search continues, involving more than 300 police officers, 120 trained search and rescue members, along with dozens of other volunteers from the community.
The child, known simply as “Parker” for purposes of the search, went missing on Thursday, July 16 — but it wasn’t until two days later that police issued an Amber Alert for the missing boy.
Normally, his disappearance would not meet the legal criteria for an Amber Alert, but the government of Alberta granted an exemption because of the “unique circumstances of this investigation.”
According to Calgary police, Parker is neurodivergent and non-verbal and may become even more scared if confronted by strangers.
For Lethbridge resident Tina Heron, the boy’s disappearance bears some similarities to her own “living hell.”
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