Amber Alert Guidelines Should Be Reexamined

Autumn Pasquale is a missing 12-year-old girl from New Jersey, and yet many people have no idea because no Amber Alert was issued.

Why?

Amber Alerts are only issued for children who have been abducted who are considered at risk of serious bodily injury or death.

That means that children like Autumn, who was last seen leaving her Clayton home on a bicycle around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, are not included.

She was on her way to a friend's house, and when her parents realized she never made it there, reported her missing at 9:30 p.m.

A child who disappears, whether voluntarily or not, is in danger. Whether this is another case of a runaway, or a child who was abducted, she needs to be found and brought home.

The more people who know to look for her, the better the chances are of finding her.

Granted if there was an Amber Alert issued for every runaway, the system probably would get bogged down, but when it comes to keeping children safe, isn't it better to be safe than sorry?

You can punish a child after the fact if she abused the system, but we shouldn't just assume that a child ran away.

Regardless, let's continue to get the word out about Autumn.

She was last seen wearing shorts and a white T-shirt. She is 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighs 120 pounds and has blue eyes and wavy blonde hair that’s usually in a ponytail or a loose bun.

Anyone with information should call Clayton Police at (856) 881-2301.

Do you think the Amber Alert guidelines should include all missing children? Share your thoughts below!