Amber Hagerman

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Amber Hagerman
Born	November 25, 1986(1986-11-25)
Died	January 17, 1996 (aged 9) Arlington, Texas

Amber Hagerman (November 25, 1986 – January 15, 1996) was a young girl who became a victim of an abduction and murder. On January 13, 1996, she was riding her bike near her grandparents' home in Arlington, Texas, and was kidnapped soon thereafter.^[1] Her murder would later inspire the creation of the AMBER Alert system.

Contents 1 Abduction 2 Additional Investigation 3 Legacy 3.1 AMBER Alert 4 Notes 5 External links

[edit] Abduction

On January 13, 1996, a man in a black pickup truck abducted Amber, who was riding her bicycle in Arlington, TX. A witness, Jimmie Kevil, was able to provide police with a cursory description of both the abductor and his vehicle.^[2][3] According to Kevil, the man in the pickup stopped in the parking lot of the abandoned grocery store where Hagerman was playing, sprinted to Hagerman, and dragged her into his truck. As Kevil was relating his observations to the police, Hagerman's grandfather, Jimmy Whitson, drove up, looking for the child. Hagerman was the second child in her family to have been kidnapped. Her father's two-day-old-granddaughter was abducted in 1991 and recovered safely 10 hours later.^[3]

Arlington police began searching for Hagerman immediately. Volunteers searched for Amber Hagerman for several days, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated.^[3] Four days after her abduction, a man walking his dog found Hagerman's corpse in a creek bed. An autopsy revealed that her throat had been cut. She had been alive two whole days before being killed.^[4] Although a $75,000 reward was offered for information leading to Hagerman's killer, he was never found.^[5] The task force investigating Hagerman's murder was dissolved in June 1997.^[6]

No arrests were made.^[1] Her murder remains unsolved, ^[7] but on July 25, 2007 it was announced that Terapon Adhahn, of Tacoma, Washington, was under investigation for Amber's slaying. Adhahn was arrested July 9, 2007 in connection with another abduction, that of 12-year-old Zina Linnik, whose body was found July 12 in east Pierce County in Washington State. Zina disappeared from a July 4th celebration. Adhahn was charged with aggravated first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree rape in Zina's abduction and death. In addition to Zina's slaying, Adhahn was considered a person of interest in the slaying of Adre'Anna Jackson, 10, of Tillicum, Washington, who was killed in 2005. He has also been charged with raping two other girls.

[edit] Additional Investigation

On April 20, 2009, a group of college students with Bauder College's Cold Case Investigative Research Institute began a year-long pursuit to solve the case. The volunteers have also reviewed other high-profile cold-cases such as Chandra Levy.^[8] The AMBER alert was later founded in memory of Amber Hagerman and in hopes that any other children who get abducted would be found.

[edit] Legacy

Within days, Hagerman's mother, Donna Norris, was "calling for tougher laws governing sex offenders".^[9] Whitson testified in front of the U.S. Congress in June, asking legislators to create a nationwide registry of sex offenders. Representative Martin Frost, the Congressman who represents Whitson's district, proposed an "Amber Hagerman Child Protection Act". Among the sections of the bill was one that would create a national sex offender registry.^[10] Both of Hagerman's parents were present when President Bill Clinton signed into law the bill creating the national sex offender register. Whitson and Richard Hagerman then began collecting signatures in Texas, which they planned to present to then-Governor George W. Bush as a sign that people wanted more stringent laws for sex offenders.^[5]

[edit] AMBER Alert

The first AMBER Alert trial was run in 1996 at KRLD Radio Studio at the Ball Park in Arlington, TX. Those in attendance were Rick Roberts, Richard Hagerman and Bruce Seybert. Seybert worked with Amber's parents from day one, calling for what was later named the AMBER Alert, based on what Mark Klaas had told Amber's father what needed to be done on the day of his daughter's abduction. He released the AMBER Alert at a media symposium. In October 2000, the United States House of Representatives adopted H.R. 605 which encouraged communities nationwide to implement the AMBER Plan. In April 2003, President George W. Bush signed the AMBER Alert legislation, making it a national program.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children assists in the implementation of AMBER Alerts.

In 2006, a TV movie, Amber's Story,^[11] was broadcast on Lifetime. It stars Elisabeth Röhm and Sophie Hough.

Amber Hagerman Deserves Justice: A NightOwl Story.

Amber Hagerman Deserves Justice: A Night Owl Story -- The superlative storytelling team of teenage writer Jake Tinsley and master manga artist Jason Dube come together again to tell the story of real-life murder victim Amber Hagerman and explain how the investigation into her death has been renewed. This comic, officially endorsed by Amber's mother, has received international acclaim.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• Crime Library on Amber Hagerman
• Houston's Amber Plan
• CodeAmber - Amber Alert Java Ticker

http://www.whambangcomics.com Amber Hagerman Deserves Justice: A Night Owl Story