Legislation requiring Missouri’s Amber Alert System Oversight Committee to meet at least annually has been signed into law by Governor Mike Parson. State Representative Curtis Trent filed “Hailey’s Law” in response to the 2014 kidnapping and killing of ten-year-old Hailey Owens in Springfield. Trent notes the oversight committee hasn’t met since 2015.
Craig Wood has been sentenced to death for killing Owens and is incarcerated in Potosi. Wood’s father, Jim, testified in April that Hailey’s life could have been saved if the Amber Alert was issued earlier.
Trent tells Missourinet annual meetings will help identify any new procedures that should be used to ensure alerts are issued quickly.
The bill, which takes effect in August, also allows the oversight committee to include a representative from the outdoor advertising industry. Supporters say digital highway signs can be very effective.
