Explainer: Missing girl's disappearance didn't trigger an Amber Alert. Why not?
By
From the moment Quebec provincial police announced that a three-year-old was missing on Sunday, questions swirled online over why authorities didn't issue an Amber Alert to inform the public.
Faced with the question, police have repeatedly stated the case did not meet the criteria needed for an alert.
Yet one of the top comments on the Sûreté du Québec's initial post about the disappearance comes from a mother questioning the decision.
'I would rather have 100 false alarms than one child who was not found in time,' her comment says, receiving nearly 2,000 likes.
Here is a brief overview of how Amber Alerts work and why one wasn't issued in the case of the girl, who was found alive Wednesday afternoon.
What are Amber Alerts?
The Amber Alert system was created in the United States and introduced to Quebec in 2003. It is designed to quickly notify the public about a child who has been abducted and may be in danger.
Co-operation between various police forces across the province ensures information is disseminated as swiftly as possible.
In Quebec, only the Sûreté du Québec and the Montreal police department can trigger an alert.
When an alert is issued, it is broadcast on television and radio, interrupting regular programming. In recent years, alerts have also been sent to compatible mobile phones.
Quebec's Transport Ministry also ensures the alert is displayed on message boards along highways in order to reach drivers.
What are the criteria needed?
Amber Alerts are reserved for specific situations. They will only be triggered if three criteria are met at the same time.
When a police department receives a report about a missing child, investigators quickly analyze the case to see if it warrants an alert.
The criteria are as follows:
The police have reason to believe a child has been abducted.
The police have reason to believe the child is in serious danger.
The police have information to share that could help locate the child, such as the car used or a description of the suspect.
Why was no alert issued?
Police have stated that no alert was issued in this case because it doesn't involve an abduction.
The girl was seen around 9:45 a.m. Sunday near Newman Blvd. in Montreal's LaSalle borough.
Her mother, Rachel Todd, reported her missing nearly six hours later at a fireworks store in Coteau-du-Lac, about 60 kilometres southwest of Montreal.
Police have said Todd, 34, told an employee she lost the child and didn't know where she was. She has since been charged with child abandonment.
Missing Children's Network executive director Mélanie Aubut said she understands why police didn't issue an Amber Alert, but acknowledged the public's frustrations.
'Any parents' worst nightmare is not knowing where their child is,' Aubut said. 'Families with missing children go through an extremely distressing experience, and I think that's why the population is so affected — because we all put ourselves in their shoes.'
Aubut said the delay between when the girl was seen in LaSalle and when Todd reported her missing might have also factored into the decision not to trigger an alert.
'Amber Alerts are an essential tool that is usually used immediately,' she said. 'But in this case, we're talking about a delay of six hours between the child going missing and the police being alerted.'
Should the criteria be loosened?
Different jurisdictions across North America have wrestled with whether or not the criteria needed to trigger an alert should be less strict.
While Aubut agreed the criteria is restrictive, she argued in favour of keeping it as is.
She noted that in 2024, there were more than 6,600 instances of children being reported missing in Quebec, mainly involving teenage runaways. Five Amber Alerts were issued for the province.
Excessive use of the alerts could become counterproductive, she said, as people might start tuning them out or become desensitized to the issue.
'We want to make sure that when we do sound the alarm, people's reaction isn't to say, 'Ugh, not another disappearance,'' Aubut said.
In the girl's case, Aubut believes the Sûreté du Québec did its best to communicate information and prevent disinformation from spreading.
Regardless of whether an Amber Alert is issued in a case, Aubut said it's crucial the public continues to spread word about a disappearance as new details emerge.
'Any little clue can change the course of the investigation, or could be the missing piece of the police's puzzle,' she added.
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Seven weeks later, two N.S. children are still missing. Why wasn't an Amber Alert issued?
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Explainer: Missing girl's disappearance didn't trigger an Amber Alert. Why not?
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