More than 400 children are missing in Virginia right now, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. But most do not qualify to get an AMBER Alert.
According to Virginia state law, an AMBER Alert is only triggered when certain criteria are met. The child must be 17 or younger, they must be in imminent danger and police must believe they were abducted.
But all missing children deserve someone looking for them, regardless of whether they qualify for a heightened alert. So we are asking — have you seen me?
4-year-old Hampton boy Codi Bigsby was reported missing by his father on January 31, 2022. For over two weeks, people from all over the state have come to Hampton to help in the search, looking for any clues as to where Codi might be.
Little Codi did not qualify for an AMBER Alert, partly because police did not believe he was abducted. But some volunteers are now pushing for a new kind of alert for missing children who don’t qualify for an AMBER Alert, called the Codi Alert.
Codi is four feet tall and weighs about 80 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black bomber jacket, black sweatpants and Spider-Man flip-flops.
If you have any information on Codi’s whereabouts, call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (1-888-562-5887).
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