Milwaukee City Wire

A petition has been started to create an alert in the name of a 10-year-old girl from Chippewa Falls who was recently found murdered one day after being reported missing, but an AMBER Alert was never filed.

According to a Fox 9 report, Iliana “Lily” Peters was reported missing by her father at 9 p.m. on April 24 when she never got home after leaving her aunt’s house. Police were able to find her bike in a wooded area by a trail she was riding. The next morning her body was found. However, due to the specific rules of AMBER Alert one was never sent out, and now more than 60,000 people have signed a petition to create a “Lily Alert” that would not have as strict rules to avoid a situation like this in the future.

“An AMBER Alert was never sent due to the rules around what constitutes its use. We need something more,” the petition says. “Any parent would agree that when a child is missing even for a short amount of time and they need help then help should be sent.”

The petition was created by Eric Henry, who told Fox 9 that they knew the location, what Lily was wearing and that her bike was found. He said it broke his heart that an Amber alert or any other type of message wasn’t sent out simply because of the rules.

According to the Wisconsin AMBER Alert website, to issue an AMBER Alert the child must be younger than 17, must be in danger of bodily harm or death, and officials must have a good description of the child, suspect and the vehicle they may riding in. It is not for runaways or family abductions unless the child’s life is in danger. It adds that “strict adherence to the criteria is essential” so the AMBER Alert can be effective.

The AMBER Alert was created after nine-year-old Amber Hagerman was abducted in Arlington, Texas in January 1996 in broad daylight with witnesses around. Her body was recovered four days later and the murder is still unsolved. In her memory, Texas developed the AMBER Alert and 50 states have developed their own plans.

According to the petition at change.org, more than 69,000 people have signed on as of Friday morning. Henry had an update saying that Rep. Jesse James will be meeting with local police chiefs about how to make improvements and while legislation is a slow process Henry said it is on Rep. James’ radar.