Why an Amber alert wasn’t issued for 4-year-old Everett boy found dead

The Everett Police Department (EPD) arrested the mother of 4-year-old boy Ariel Garcia in connection with his death Friday, a news release states. An Endangered Missing Persons Alert was issued around the time the boy’s body was found and an Amber alert was not sent at all.

The EPD said the woman, who MyNorthwest is not naming at this time, was already a person of interest and had already been placed in custody in Clark County after she allegedly made false and misleading statements within a few hours of Garcia being reported missing Wednesday.

Department update: Mother arrested in connection to death of 4-year-old boy

Late Thursday afternoon, the EPD was notified the boy’s body was found along Interstate 5 in Pierce County, the department reported.

Around the time Garcia’s body was found, an Endangered Missing Persons Alert was sent out to phones throughout Western Washington. The EPD stated on X, formerly known as Twitter, the body was found “around 5:55 p.m.” Fox 13 Seattle reported the alert was delivered at 5:57 p.m.

“That’s an alert for anyone who for whatever reason, their age or physical ability or mental abilities aren’t able to take care of themselves,” Washington State Patrol (WSP) Communications Director Chris Loftis said to KIRO 7.

The EPD reported Thursday on X the boy may have been missing “under suspicious circumstances.”

Everett Police officers and Search and Rescue are actively looking for the child, who may be missing under suspicious circumstances after leaving the location with a family member, and may be in danger. They are in communication with his mother and family

— Everett Police (@EverettPolice) March 28, 2024

Why an Amber alert wasn’t issued

People across the region have asked why, given the situation, an Amber alert wasn’t issued in the case.

Loftis told multiple area outlets, including KIRO 7, this specific case did not meet the requirements for an Amber alert.

In this case, Loftis said law enforcement couldn’t confirm Garcia was abducted, noting the investigation didn’t show “the abduction threshold had been met.”

Assuming the critical information about the child has been entered into the federal National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system, Amber alerts have four recommended criteria from the federal government:

• The child is 17 years old or younger.
• There is reasonable belief that an abduction has occurred.
• The law enforcement agency believes the child is in “imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.”
• There is enough descriptive information about the victim, the suspect and the suspect’s vehicle.

The Amber alert system began in 1996 in Texas. AMBER stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped and murdered. It is a federal program run under the U.S. Department of Justice.

Amber alerts usually work

“One of the reasons they’re effective is they’re so rarely used, and people really pay attention to them,” Loftis said to KIRO 7.

Whether it’s an AMBER Alert or an Endangered Missing Persons Alert, he says both are usually effective.

“It’s not uncommon for us, as soon as an AMBER Alert goes out, to just be flooded with information from people,” Loftis told KING 5.

Loftis told KIRO 7 that since January 2023, seven AMBER Alerts were sent in the state of Washington and in each case, the missing person was recovered.

Previous Amber alert: Abducted 14-year-old Pasco girl found in Seattle

In that same period, there have been 44 Endangered Missing Person Alerts and 40 of those people were recovered, according to KING 5. Just one person, Garcia, was found dead.

Another question was why the alert was sent out so late. Loftis explained that with the way the investigation played out, those involved did what they could when they could.

“When you have a four-year-old, who’s in peril, everybody moves heaven and earth, and we do all you possibly can do. But in this situation, you had a situation where that moving heaven and earth didn’t make our prayers come true.”

Contributing: KIRO 7

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.