Dec 3, 2006 9:00 am US/Central
Red Lake Case Hasn't Triggered Amber Alert
(AP)
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Although much publicized during Thanksgiving weekend, the case of Tristan Anthony White and Avery Lee Stately has not prompted law enforcement agencies to issue an Amber Alert. (File)
CBS
Two young brothers who disappeared outside their family's home on the Red Lake Indian Reservation have been gone ten days, but investigators said they still don't have enough information to launch an Amber Alert.
Authorities said there's still no proof that Tristan White, 4, and Avery Stately, 2, were abducted. That's needed before they can activate the emergency alert system that was created to inform law enforcement, media and the public about missing children.
Air, ground and water searches turned up no trace of the boys, and the lack of an official emergency alert has some of Minnesota's Indian leaders perplexed.
"I do believe the Amber Alert should have been put out right away," Erma Vizenor, chairwoman of the White Earth Band of Chippewa, the The Forum of Fargo, N.D.
Vizenor said that if Amber Alert standards didn't allow one in the Red Lake case, then those standards are too strict.
"When two little children are missing and everyone is looking for them and can't find them, they should put out an Amber Alert," Vizenor said.
Vernon Bellecourt, a leader of the American Indian Movement in Minneapolis, said even the possibility of an abduction should be enough to trigger an Amber Alert. He said many Indian people see a troubling pattern.
"We don't see as much energy when an Indian is dead or missing," Bellecourt said.
Vizenor said if the boys had gone missing from the White Earth reservation, she'd have been "upset and angry" if an Amber Alert wasn't issued.
But Nancy Sabin, executive director of the Jacob Wetterling Foundation, said she believes authorities made the only call they could.
"Every single parent wants an Amber Alert for their kid, and I cant blame them," Sabin said. "But to keep this effective tool effective, we cant use it every time."
The Amber Alert system is credited with playing a role in finding missing children in the 14 Minnesota cases where they've been used since 2002.
"Minnesotas got an extremely good record on Amber Alerts and not using them too much or too little," Sabin said.
Dave Bjerga, special agent in charge of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's Bemidji office, said all cases are treated equally, regardless of race. "This case has gotten more attention and more resources than many other missing person cases," he said.
He said the BCA, which issues Amber Alerts, have heard no complaints from Red Lake officials about how the case was handled.
The Red Lake case was getting national attention Saturday with a segment on the TV show "America's Most Wanted."
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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