Amber Alert Glitches Have Been Fixed

By Kirsten McIntyre, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Glitches were encountered in Oklahoma's Amber Alert system on Wednesday, but the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reassured the problems have been fixed.

An Amber Alert was declared for a 12-year-old girl from Stillwater on Wednesday. The alert was later called off after police discovered the girl was a runaway. However, when Stillwater police tried to enter the Amber Alert information, the dispatcher encountered a problem.

"The keyboard operator in Stillwater didn't have a verification or valid certification as an operator. So when they went in to make these entries the computer wouldn't recognize it, so they couldn't gain entry to the program," said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Captain Chris West.

West said the problems have been fixed.

"Fortunately it was a bogus call. We were able to find out we had some problems on a bogus call rather than the real deal," West said.

Another problem, the Department of Public Safety Web site never posted the alert. That problem was something News9.com viewers noticed.

News9.com viewer Rebecca wrote, "How are Oklahoma citizens supposed to help if there is not a picture or better description. The statewide Amber Alert online still states that there are no active Amber Alerts."

West said they received a picture of the girl but encountered a problem.

"We actually did receive a photograph at the Department of Public Safety, but it wasn't in the correct format," West said.

DPS said it was in the process of getting a new photo when the Amber Alert was canceled.

Amber Alerts have to meet certain requirements before they are issued. It took Stillwater police less than an hour to determine an alert should be put out.