New Bucket List Item: Successfully Calling In An Amber Alert – Video Of Friends In Car Who Called In Amber Alert, Saved A Kidnapped Child
I'm pretty sure every person in America who's ever drove on the interstate has played out this fantasy in their head. Maybe you're notified by way of the loudest "AMBER ALERT!" text sound in the world. Or maybe you're cruising along the highway when suddenly the big electronic sign overtop of the road alerts you that someone's adult has gone missing (I've always thought being a "missing adult" would be kind of embarrassing. Things can't necessarily be going as planned in your life if you're a "missing adult". I said that to my wife the other day and her response was, "Not really, it's probably a person with mental problems and his parents are scared for his health. To which I replied, "Yeah that's kinda my point")
Either way, whether it's a missing child or an unaccounted for adult, in the moments after you're made aware that RED FORD TRUCK LICENSE PLATE 'BVR 776' is wanted, who doesn't look around in hopes that you'll be pulling up behind that very truck.
It's like winning the ultimate game of iSpy. What a thrill it must be when you first match the license plate. It's an opportunity to be a hero falling right in your lap. Except once your initial celebration is over, you're then faced with a choice. Unless you're really in a life-or-death time crunch, it's hard to justify simply calling in the tip then being on your way. You have to follow that vehicle. And what if the driver realizes what you're doing and tries to lose you? Now you have a citizen's police chase on your hands. What if he flashes a gun out the window? Then you really have a choice to make. It could be anything from a petty custody battle to a legitimate human trafficking situation. You never know. You gotta keep tabs on that truck until the police show up.
Which is seemingly what this group of friends did? Maybe they lost him for a second, but they at least drove around long enough to see that the Volkswagen Atlas was brought to justice. They did more than the bare minimum. Which I'd imagine is better than most people do. So good on them for that.
And for the record, I can't find any details on which is man was "planning" with his abduction. But according to the New York Post, the child was found unharmed, and the kidnapper was a relative of the child.
NY Post – The Prince George’s County Police Department issued an alert for 1-year-old Day-Rene Garris Collins around 2 p.m. Saturday, after she was reported missing from her home earlier that day in a white onesie, the department posted on X.
The Amber Alert issued urged the public to watch for a 2022 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport SUV bearing Maryland license plate 8GK3445, being driven by her suspected abductor and relative, Shannon Collins.
Which… doesn't really narrow down the possibilities at all. If anything it makes the spectrum of what it could have been even wider. But regardless, good on the citizen's for helping to bring him in. I hope I'm lucky/heroic enough to call one in myself today. Add it to the bucket list. Cause why you kidnap the kid?