When a young boy went missing in the Kootenays last year, BC Hydro lineman Brian Gueldenstern wondered why there wasn’t a better way to get that information out to more people, including his co-workers.
So he made a pitch to get Amber Alerts sent to all Hydro workers in the field.
Now the B.C. government has picked up his idea and is expanding the specialized instant-alert program to include all 30,000 civil servants.
Gueldenstern, who works in Nanaimo, attended a Vancouver news conference with Premier Christy Clark Friday to announce the implementation of the initiative, which will see all provincial workers receive Amber Alerts on their computers and mobile devices on a 24-hour basis.
Clark credited Gueldenstern with getting the Amber Alerts out to Hydro workers and beyond.
“It started with one person and now it is going to have a potentially life-saving impact all across the province,” she said. “One person really can make a very big difference in another person’s life.”
Since the Amber Alert warning system was implemented in B.C. in 2004, it has been used just 12 times to provide instant information to the public about the disappearance of 15 kids.
“Every one of those 15 children returned home safely. That’s the value of having eyes in the community,” Clark said.
“There is nothing to compare with the terror a parent feels when their child goes missing.”
Clark credited Child Find BC president Crystal Dunahee with bringing Amber Alert to the province eight years ago.
Dunahee’s four-year-old son Michael vanished from a Victoria playground in 1991 and has never been found.
“I remember back when Michael first disappeared, the way we had to get information out was mass reproduction of posters and handing them out individually,” Dunahee said. “Technology has come a long way.”
Clark said BC Hydro, ICBC and BC Transit, as well as London Drugs are already on board with sending out alerts to their employees when they’re issued. She challenged other Crown corporations and private companies to join the campaign.
RCMP Chief Superintendent Wayne Rideout said Amber Alert has been an effective tool for law enforcement agencies.
“By broadening the reach of Amber Alert, police will be closer to our goal of ensuring that every single person in British Columbia is immediately notified when a child has been abducted,” he said. “The importance of timely dissemination of information to the broadest audience possible is critical in these investigations.”
