PRECEDENT: Amber Hagerman
When Amber Hagerman was abducted in 1996 there was a witness who saw a man and a distinctive car near where she was taken. But there was no way to get this information out to the mass public in time and to this day the mystery of what happened to Amber still remains. But her story changed the way the country handles child abductions and a precedent to issue an Amber Alert in situations like hers, was made.
For our friends in the Deaf and Signing community, you can view an ASL version of this episode.
A missing persons poster was created for Amber, hoping someone would come forward with information.
Happy Pride Month!
This year, audiochuck is sponsoring Indiana Youth Group, an LGBTQ+ community center located in Indianapolis Indiana.
To learn more about their amazing resources and programming, and to see how you can get involved through volunteering and/or donations, please visit their website at indianayouthgroup.org.
Don’t forget to also check out all the incredible organizations that audiochuck has previously sponsored over the years that are just as deserving of your support and attention, not only this month, but all year round!
We’d love to speak with you and see how we can support.
If you’re a law enforcement agency or family member of one of the people we mentioned in this episode, or if you’re looking for more coverage on a case, please reach out. You can email us at:
Episode Source Material
- YouTube: After Amber: A WFAA Documentary (1997).
- National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children: Still Searching for Amber’s Killer, by Patricia Davis.
- National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children: Key facts.
- National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children: Amber Alert 2019 Annual Report.
- Kiro 7: Police release new photos, seek new info in unsolved 1996 murder of Amber Hagerman, by Crystal Bonvillian (Cox Media).
- Crime and Investigation: The tragic case that inspired America’s AMBER Alerts.
- Dallas Morning News: 25 years after Amber Hagerman’s kidnapping, here’s why detectives stay hopeful for a breakthrough in her case, by Charles Scudder and Dana Branham.
- DBM True Crime Chronicles: Amber Hagerman – The History Behind the Amber Alert.
- U.S. Department of Justice: Amber Alerts website.
- Toronto Sun: Sleep interrupted? Think about Amber Hagerman, by Brad Hunter.
- Crime Watch Daily: ‘I Want Her to Have Justice’: The story that inspired the AMBER Alert system.
- Inside Edition: Police Vow To Find Killer Of Child Whose 1996 Murder Inspired Amber Alerts.
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Volunteers gave it all they had, including tears, by John Austin and Mary Doclar.
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Killer likely lives in area, analyst says, by Stephen G. Michaud.
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Case haunts community, by Tanya Eiserer.
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Parents plead for Amber’s return, by Deanna Boyd.
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Girl, 9, on bike seized by man, by Robert Tharp.
- Front Page Detectives: Eight minutes that changed the world, by Michael East.
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Abduction broadcast plan unveiled, by John Austin.
Suggested Episodes
WANTED: Justice for Rhys Pocan & MMIW Part 2
In 2021, we set out to cover the case of Rhys Pocan, a 35-year-old Indigenous woman who was murdered in Wisconsin in the ‘80s. In Part 2, we look into cases of two other female dismemberment victims in Wisconsin with striking similarities to Rhys Pocan’s.
WANTED: Justice for Rhys Pocan & MMIW Part 1
In 2021, we set out to cover the case of Rhys Pocan, a 35-year-old Indigenous woman who was murdered in Wisconsin in the ‘80s. But while we were in the field, we uncovered a disturbing pattern of murders with similarities to Rhys’ that were just too blatant to ignore. So, we spent the next three years working with local and federal law enforcement to try and get to the bottom of it.
WANTED: The Keddie Cabin Killer
A family’s brutal murder rocks a tiny California town and leaves behind too many unanswered questions.
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