By FRANK ANTHONY CURRERI
Copyright 2002 The Salt Lake Tribune

Rachael Marie Runyan, a 3-year-old girl who was kidnapped from a Sunset park and killed in 1982, might be alive today if her abduction had been aired sooner by the news media, believes her mother, Elaine Runyan-Simmons.

Now, Utah law enforcement officers are joining forces with broadcasters so news of a kidnapping and a victim’s photograph can be more quickly publicized. Officials plan to call the new program ‘The Rachael Alert,‘ after the little girl whose death saddened people across the nation.

“The heartbreaking statistic is that 74 percent of children abducted by strangers are killed within three hours of being taken,” said Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. “The Rachael Alert will give kids an extra chance to survive.”

The plan is similar to those in eight other states, which have led to the safe return of at least 16 victims, Shurtleff said.

Under the Rachael Alert, child abductions can be broadcast on television and radio stations at any time of day, not just during the morning, afternoon and evening news time slots.

Officials caution, however, that the Rachael Alert will be used in limited and rare circumstances — child abductions by strangers.The emergency broadcasts will not be used, they said, for runaways, lost children or in parental tug-of-wars, unless the child’s life is at stake.

Four criteria must be met before the alert is used. A child must be assumed kidnapped; the child must be 15 or younger, or have a proven mental or physical disability; the child must be in imminent danger of serious injury or death; and there must be information available to help, such as a description of the abductor or vehicle.

“For all those who would take our children,” Shurtleff said, “Know this: There won’t be just a couple of cops looking for you, there will be tens of thousands of people all over Utah . . . with their eyes wide open and a cellphone handy.”

Utah Public Safety Commissioner Robert Flowers said authorities can set up roadblocks and search every car for an abducted child.