GREENSBORO, N.C. — High Point Police say with the help of the Davidson County Sheriff's Office they've found Legend Masir Goodwine, the missing 1-year-old who was last seen inside a stolen car. While police were searching for Legend, an Amber Alert was issued overnight.
However, many on social media have pointed out that they never received an Amber Alert notification on their mobile phones, until after reports of the child being found.
Nona Best says the phone alert is secondary and was sent out before law enforcement confirmed with her the child had been located. Best has been the director of the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons since 2009.
"The Emergency Alert System which is the primary alert system was issued last night," Best said in a phone interview. "The wireless, the phones were issued this morning."
Best explains that the Center for Missing Persons is not an investigative agency and that the Center's role is to simply release and cancel Missing Persons alerts, like Amber Alerts, to citizens via the Emergency Alert System (EAS) on TV, radio and NCDOT signs. Law enforcement serves as the investigative agency and are required to communicate with the Center in order to establish when a Missing Persons alert must be issued and when it must be cancelled.
"Law enforcement reaches out to us when they have a confirmed locate and they want us to officially deactivate the Amber," Best said.
Best released the mobile alert close to 10 a.m. and told WFMY News 2 that as she was on the phone with us a few minutes later, she was finally receiving notification from law enforcement that the child had been located and that the Amber Alert could be canceled.
Here are the guidelines law enforcement and the Center for Missing Persons must use to issue an Amber Alert as recommended by the Department of Justice.