LSP says delay in AMBER Alert notification partially due to incomplete application
TANGIPAHOA PARISH, La. (WVUE) - Louisiana State Police are clarifying why an AMBER Alert for two young children was not sent until hours after the investigation began into their disappearance following the killing of their mother.
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards echoed frustrated sentiments of the southeast Louisiana community on Thursday after the bodies of a woman and her daughter were discovered in what officials called a brutal and heinous murder and abduction.
Police in Jackson, Mississippi, arrested Daniel Callihan on Thursday evening (June 13) following the discovery of four-year-old Erin Brunett’s body. An alleged accomplice, Victoria Cox, 32, was also arrested.
Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade condemned Callihan, calling him a “coward” for the murders of 35-year-old Callie Brunett and her daughter Erin. U.S. Marshals discovered Erin’s body in a wooded area in South Jackson, three hours north of Loranger, Louisiana, where Callie’s body was found.
In Loranger, Callie Brunett’s father found her murdered Thursday morning, prompting an investigation and an AMBER Alert. However, Sheriff Edwards said the alert was issued more than three hours after his office requested it.
“I can tell you, being frustrated, I reached out to the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association Executive Director. I called him and said this was unacceptable,” Sheriff Edwards said following Callihan’s arrest. “I said somebody’s got to get to state police to issue this AMBER Alert. The only thing I know, within five minutes, it was issued. What the cause of the delay was I can’t say. But it was something that was very frustrating for us and I’m sure very frustrating for the family.”
State police have to believe the circumstances surrounding the abduction indicate the child is in danger. They have to have enough descriptive information about the child, abductor, and/or the suspect’s vehicle.
LSP says Tangipahoa officials submitted an incomplete application around an hour after an AMBER Alert was requested.
Below is the timeline provided by LSP:
- 9:14 a.m. Louisiana State Police Investigative Support Section contacted the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office (TPSO) to offer assistance from the Louisiana Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children (LSP-LACMEC) regarding two missing children.
- 9:21 a.m. TPSO requested LACMEC to initiate the AMBER Alert process.
- 9:27 a.m. LACMEC contacted TPSO and instructed them to complete the AMBER Alert application form, including pictures of the children.
- 10:30 a.m. LSP-LACMEC received an incomplete AMBER Alert application from TPSO. Once an application is received, it must be reviewed to ensure it contains sufficient, correct information and meets the criteria for an AMBER Alert. For more details on AMBER Alert criteria, visit LSP’s AMBER Alerts page.
- 11:45 a.m. LSP Fusion Center sent a Level II Endangered/Missing Children Advisory to all law enforcement agencies statewide and in surrounding states.
- 12:18 p.m. LSP Public Affairs disseminated the AMBER Alert press release via email and social media.
- 12:28 p.m. The initial AMBER Alert was broadcast to the emergency alert system.
“The AMBER Alert activation process is comprehensive and continuous, remaining active until the case is resolved. Law enforcement agencies have numerous critical responsibilities in cases involving missing children. The Louisiana State Police serve as the intermediary, relaying information to designated broadcast partners across the state. The AMBER Alert system is reserved exclusively for serious child abduction cases where circumstances pose a life-threatening risk to the child, necessitating a thorough examination of each case,” LSP said in a statement.
RELATED STORIES
Mother, daughter found dead; suspect arrested, possible accomplice at-large
Stacy Pearson, former Louisiana AMBER Alert coordinator with LSP, says on average in the U.S. it typically takes three hours to issue an AMBER Alert from the time the information is received and that the safe recovery of a child ultimately relies on the abductor’s decision-making.
“The AMBER Alert system is a tool,” she said. “It is a resource that law enforcement uses, and in child abduction emergencies, all the tools and all the resources are put on the table. AMBER Alerts are just one of those that are used, just like search dogs, tracking dogs, helicopters, all-terrain vehicles, boats. It’s one of those tools that’s used.”
Investigators found Erin’s 6-year-old sister injured but alive in a car near where Erin’s body was discovered. The surviving child was taken to a Jackson hospital where her grandparents met her. Chief Wade believes the area where the girls were found was used for human trafficking.
“Based on the crime scene, what it looks like, this may be the place where there has been some human trafficking done,” Chief Wade said. “We see cages, small animal cages. This is very, very disturbing to me as a police chief and as a father to witness and see what I saw.”
Sheriff Edwards said Callihan had previously dated Callie Brunett.
“The suspect, Daniel Callihan, knew this family. He was not a complete stranger. What would lead him to kill Callie and abduct the children, I simply can’t say,” he said.
Authorities urge anyone with information to contact Lt. Jacob Schwebel at 985-902-2037 or Crime Stoppers of Tangipahoa at 1-800-554-5245.
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please include the headline.
Subscribe to the Fox 8 YouTube channel.
Copyright 2024 WVUE. All rights reserved.
