WEA, EAS, Levi and AMBER Alerts

If you’re going to write an EAS message, why not use that same content to write a WEA? 

Recently, I saw a WEA that was issued for an abducted child in Georgia. [As a side note, missing child alerts in Georgia are known as "Levi's Call" and have the same issuance requirements as the national AMBER Alert. This becomes important below.] It was issued statewide on a Thursday evening. As you can see, the message contains information about the location, the type of alert, a range of years, and a limited description of a vehicle. No other contents are provided, leaving any person across the state to wonder "what is this about?"

Amber Alert WEA issued for a missing child

I'm not in Georgia, but I was curious. Did the sender not have any more information that they could share about the child or the suspect or even the location where they were last seen? From research conducted in my lab (forthcoming), those are key pieces of information that can affect ability to respond to these types of messages.  This prompted me to do a little digging, leading me to the EAS text created for the same event. 

"A civil authority has issued A child abduction emergency for All Georgia, effective until 10:39 PM.We interrupt this program to bring you this important announcement. This is an emergency missing child alert, or Levis Call, the Georgia version of an Amber Alert. The Savannah Police Department and the GEORGIA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION are looking for a White, 2020-2022, Nissan, Altima. On May 15,2025, [CHILD'S NAME REDACTED], Age 3 Hispanic Female with Black Hair and Brown Eyes Color and was last seen wearing Yellow Shirt Top dark spandex pants and White Shoes. She was abducted by Jess Elliott, age 32, Hispanic, Female, 5 feet weighting 120, brown hair and brown eye color and was last seen wearing Teal Tank Top and Black spandex. They were last seen at Brightside Advocacy, 825 Wheaton Street Savannah, Georgia, going Eastbound on Wheaton Street. [CHILD'S NAME] is believed to be in extreme danger. If you have any information on the whereabouts of [CHILD'S NAME] or the White, 2020-2000, Nissan, Alt"

Wow! That's a lot of detail! Imagine if this had been included in that WEA that was issued. Imagine if the phones that lit up that Thursday night included these key details that could help to bring the child to safety. Importantly, WEA is complementary, but stands in direct contrast with EAS - a WEA reaches EVERYONE who has a WEA-capable cell phone and has not opted out. EAS messages are issued is at the discretion of a broadcaster (in other words, they aren't always sent) and it requires people to already have their TV/Radio turned on to receive the message. 

As an exercise, the Editor's Desk rewrote the AMBER Alert to follow guidance adapted from the Warning Response Model. It looks like this.

Updated AMBER Alert

The new message includes the message source, the name of the alert, a description of the victim, where they were last seen and how they were traveling. It also provides information about the suspect and tells people what to do if they see the child/suspect/vehicle. We also call attention to key words by using CAPS to draw the reader's eye to information that stands out. By following this format, message receivers will have key information they need to assist law enforcement.

Fortunately, the child was found. Whether it was a result of the WEA is not confirmable. But we have to consider that a complete message would have been a better strategy to help spur action than the incomplete message that was issued.

For more recommended contents, be sure to download The Warning Lexicon - it's free and offers step-by-step instructions on how to write a better warning message.

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