"This may very well save a life," Kempthorne said. "As soon as law enforcement authorities have made a determination an abduction is real and there is a threat to a child, this Amber Alert is ready to go out immediately throughout the state."
Idaho State Police Major Tommy Thompson said the following criteria must be met before an Amber Alert notice is issued: a confirmed abduction must be confirmed; the victim must be under the age of 18, or of proven mental or physical disability; local law enforcement must believe the victim is be in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death and there is information available that, if disseminated to the general public, could assist in the recovery of the victim.
Results from the test showed that only a very few stations did not receive the alert signal. The state's six emergency transmitters worked as planned, and sent the test signal to radio and television stations in every region of the state.
"The test identified some areas where we need to do some work, and we are addressing them as well as refining protocols," said John Cline, director of the Bureau of Disaster Services.
The Idaho Lottery, through its more than 700 vendors, will also post Amber Alert information and print alerts on lottery tickets.
