Cellphones in South Carolina to blare Wednesday. Here’s why yours will get loud
Cellphones across South Carolina will bleat a loud alarm Wednesday afternoon as a part of a statewide test of the Amber Alert system, according to the South Carolina law Enforcement Division.
The test will occur sometime between 2-3 p.m., SLED said in a news release.
The test will be visible, and audible, to cellphone users who will hear the distinctive Amber Alert tone on mobile devices in South Carolina, according to the release. An Amber Alert test message also will appear on SLED’s website.
“This test will be a safety exercise, not a real-world incident,” SLED officials said in the release. “The test is part of ongoing safety measures to ensure that new technology integrates into the existing state emergency alert system. “
What’s an Amber Alert
An Amber Alert is an emergency response system initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice that sends an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases when there is enough information to make the alert effective. The bulletin is usually sent through media broadcasts or electronic road signs.
Through 2025, there have been 1,292 children have been rescued specifically because of an Amber Alert. Another 241 children were rescued because of wireless emergency alerts, the Department of Justice said.
The system began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed up with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children, according to the Department of Justice. The system was named for 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then brutally murdered.
Media use the Emergency Alert System to air a description of the abducted child, suspected abductor and any vehicle that may have been used in the abduction. The goal of an Amber Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of the child.
Amber Alert Criteria
Amber Alerts are issued for abducted children that meet the Amber Alert criteria, and other alerts and tools are used by law enforcement to find abducted children. Amber Alerts are used in the most serious cases.
- There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred
- The law enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death
- There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction
- The abduction is of a child that is 17 or younger
- The child’s name and other critical data elements, including the Child Abduction flag, have been entered into the National Crime Information Center system
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice
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