Posted Wednesday, March 6, 2013 --- 1:00 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The state Justice Department is urging people to watch for Amber Alerts for missing children on their cellphones.
The agency notifies the Dane County Public Safety Communication Center whenever it issues an Amber Alert. The communication center in turn notifies the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which sends the alert out through secondary distributors, including Internet service providers and digital billboards.
In January NCMEC began sending alerts out through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Wireless Emergency Alert system. The system broadcasts alerts to mobile devices within range of the affected area. Users with WEA-enabled mobile devices receive the alerts for free when they're in the geographic area where they've been issued.
DOJ spokeswoman Dana Brueck says no Wisconsin alerts have been issued through the new system yet.
Copyright 2013: Associated Press
