United States

Facebook to Post Amber Alerts to Help Find Missing Children

Facebook users in the U.S. will soon receive Amber Alerts to help find missing children who may be located near them.

Facebook Inc. is working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to send the alerts to users' mobile phones if they are in a search area where a child has been abducted.

The alerts will feature photographs of the missing child and any other details about their case. The alerts will appear in a user's Facebook News Feed; they will not show up as notifications on the person's phone.

Facebook says people are already using its site to encourage their friends and family to help find missing children, and that several children have been reunited with their families as a result of information shared on the site.

Last March, a missing 11-year-old girl was found in a South Carolina motel room when a motel clerk called police after seeing an Amber Alert on Facebook, according to the company and reports at the time.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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