AMARILLO, TEXAS --
More than 400 missing persons or runaways were reported in Amarillo since January of 2012. A shockingly high number for many citizens and law enforcement alike.
"That's an enormous amount," said Cpl. Jerry Neufeld with the Amarillo Police Department. "We're talking two or three a day."
However, the majority of those missing persons/runaway cases are resolved in a matter of hours.
"80 percent of those within 72 hours are returned home either by their own accord or another relative or we find them somewhere and take them home," Cpl. Neufeld added.
It's in cases that typically fall in the smaller 20th percentile of more serious missing persons cases, where either a very young child has gone missing, or enforcement fears the person could have been abducted or in danger that Amarillo Police might send out a Nixle Alert.
"We'll put them out for traffic alerts, major accidents, fires, missing persons, missing adults, counterfeit money," explained Cpl. Neufeld. "Just anything we feel like we need to try to get as many people notified as we can," he said. "If you've got a child that's less than ten who's missing who walks home from school and hasn't arrived by 4:15-4:30, that's a whole lot different than if you get a 15-year-old who had a fight with mom or dada the night before and doesn't come home from school."
Determining when and why to send out a Nixle Alert, Cpl. Neufeld said, varies from case to case. Nevertheless, he encourages everyone to subscribe to the Nixle Alerts.
"The more people that we can reach the better off we are," said Neufeld. "It's a great way to stay informed so you can help us and help your neighbors."
More than 5,000 people are already subscribed to receive the alerts. To subscribe and receive Nixles to your email address or cell phone, log on to the Nixle website.
