Levi's Call

On October 22, 1997, after a day of playing with his friends, 11-year old Levi Frady headed toward his rural Forsyth County home. It was getting dark, but his house was less than a mile away, and he and his trusty bike had made the trip dozens of times.

Tragically, on this evening, Levi would not make it home. He was abducted, driven to a neighboring county, and brutally murdered. The next day, his body was found in a wooded area. Law enforcement officials are still searching for his killer.

It is in Levi's memory that the law enforcement community, emergency management, and Georgia's broadcasters have partnered with Levi's family to create Levi's Call: Georgia's Amber Alert. The program is designed to get the word out to the public via radio and television within minutes of a confirmed abduction. Its goal is simple: Locate a child and an abductor quickly before any harm comes to the child.

Together, we will answer Levi's Call.

About Levi's Call

Levi's Call is an investigative tool that can be activated only by local law enforcement agencies through a request to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

When an abduction is confirmed and investigators determine that the case meets Alert Criteria, they contact the respective GBI regional office. (You can call the regional offices during business hours, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. After hours, on weekends and holidays, contact the GBI Communications Center at 404-244-2600. An operator will locate the on-call agent.) The GBI verifies that the use of an alert is justified and works with the local investigator to draft an Alert Bulletin.

Once the Alert Bulletin is complete, the GBI requests activation through the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA). GEMA transmits the bulletin via the EAS to broadcasters. GEMA, in cooperation with law enforcement, determines whether the alert should be broadcast statewide or regionally. Broadcasters are requested to run the alert at least twice the first hour and once every hour for the next three hours. Local law enforcement also must supply the GBI with a photograph of the child for dissemination to the media.

Activation Criteria

Before Levi's Call can be activated, the following Alert Criteria must be met:

• Law enforcement officials have a reasonable belief that an abduction has occurred.
• Law enforcement officials believe that the child is in imminent danger or serious bodily injury or death.
• Enough descriptive information exists about the victim and the abductor for law enforcement to issue a Levi's Call:  Georgia's AMBER Alert.
• The victim of the abduction is a child age 17 years or younger.
• The child's name and other critical data elements - including the child abduction (CA) and AMBER Alert (AA) flags - have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system.

Activation will not be granted for:

• Non-custodial abductions where no danger exists to the child
• Runaways

Overuse of Levi's Call will cause the program to be ineffective.