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Jan-07-2011 20:19printcomments

Hailey Dunn 13 Denied Amber Alert

Are public officials doing enough to help locate missing kids?

Hailey Dunn
Hailey Dunn

(CLEVELAND) - Forward by Mitch Carr: If an Amber Alert had been issued for 13-year-old Hailey Darlene Dunn, you'd see it on blinking TxDOT billboards, hear it on the radio, and be able to see and hear more on TV. No alert has been issued, however, because not enough information is available.

Hailey was last seen leaving home and heading for a friend's house on the night of Monday December 27. She never made it to that friend's house, and a week later friends and family held a candlelight prayer vigil for her safe return.

750 people attended.

But still no Amber Alert, and it's because crucial information is still missing. To issue an Amber Alert, the child must be under 17. Hailey's 13 so that checks out.

But law enforcement also have to have information indicating that the child is in immediate physical danger of something like a sexual assault for example. That's not the case here as far as we know.

There's also no proof that Hailey was abducted. She simply hasn't been seen in a week, but that does not mean she's been abducted.

Because there's no proof of abduction, there's no description of a suspect nor any description of a suspect vehicle. Those are two important pieces of information that also must be included if an amber alert is to be issued.

Hailey's mother Billie Jean Dunn and the family just want Hailey back.

"We want her to know she's not in trouble with us or the police. We just need to get her back. We've got to have her back," Billie Jean Dunn said.

CNN Headline News's Nancy Grace decided to pick up the story.

The anonymous reward for information leading to Hailey's safe return is currently at $25,000 and growing.

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Hailey Dunn 13 Denied Amber Alert

Teenage cheerleader has disappeared in a small Texas town,
And while her family, friends and local police scurry around,
Colorado City Police Chief John Bivins says no Amber Alert,
Officials say her case doesn’t meet the criteria & if she’s hurt?

The state of Texas has certain guidelines to follow in this case,
You mean missing over a week is not enough to post her face?
3 requests by the local police department, all have been denied,
They have been told there's not enough information that is why.

Minimum standard for creating an Amber Alert is knowledge,
Of a suspect, vehicle description and direction, is this College?
Are cops supposed to get 90% or better on some kind of exam?
Sorry but we failed the test so we cannot look for your kid Mam.

Colorado City, population of 4000, is 70 miles west of Abilene,
And the afternoon of December 27, is when she was last seen,
Told mom’s boyfriend she was spending the night with a friend,
As certainly no one could ever imagine never seeing her again.

Hailey did not make it to the friend’s and no one knows where,
But biggest mystery here is that the state doesn’t seem to care,
Criteria? Now there is an abduction manual for perverts to use?
Of course the longer they wait the more contaminated the clues.

The friend Hailey was to be staying with said they made no plans,
Does that not mean someone is lying, what’s there to understand?
Cops, Texas Rangers, Sheriff’s Deputies have conducted a search,
However, should not a nationwide picture of Hailey be shown first?

Friday, police bloodhound picked up her scent, parking lot, motel,
Ground floor room, near her home, last clue, nothing more to tell,
For evidence, thorough search, 24 rooms with a fine tooth comb,
Nothing new to report except that this little girl is out there alone.

Review of the motel’s surveillance tapes failed to produce any leads,
Assistance from the state of Texas, Amber Alert, is what they need,
Polygraph to Shawn Adkins the boyfriend of her mother, Billie Dunn,
No results yet but if he’s not involved, suspect(s) are still on the run?

Hailey is described as 5'2", 120 pounds, with hazel eyes & brown hair,
Plus she has a smile the size of Texas also blond streaks hear and there,
Although that grin is probably not functioning under her circumstance,
Let’s make every effort to give Hailey & all of those like her a chance.

The only reason crimes like this happen is because perverts know,
Organization and initial response is a snail’s pace, damn that’s slow,
Oh, move heaven and earth by building a billion $$ sports complex,
However, a missing middle school cheerleader hey, what the heck?

Local government, unlike state authorities are putting in their time,
But I’ll bet you at the next election they’ll be your friend and mine,
Shouldn’t mitigating circumstances always be allowed to over ride?
Any guidelines giving the guilty additional time for evidence to hide?

From the sincerest hearts in and out of Texas sympathy is poured,
What started out as 10 has now multiplied into a 25 grand reward,
Billboards are posting her pictures the family doesn’t have to buy,
Even those famed Texas Rangers but not the state, I wonder why?

Investigators were seen searching Hailey’s house on Chestnut Street,
As well as their outdoor shed but what if everything is tidy and neat?
Bottom line, they are certain of foul play as they continue the search,
Seeking helicopters, money, Cowboy’s tickets? Just an Amber Alert.

By Luke Easter

Courtesy: No Amber Alert for Missing Colorado City Girl - EverythingLubbock.com

Learn more: FindHaileyDunn.com

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Luke Easter is a poet who writes about things that are very close to the heart of Salem-News.com. Another former U.S. Marine, Luke heals the world with an approach that reaches people on a different level, one known for centuries, yet too often forgotten in the one we live in.

We live in a world of social & economic injustice. The main reason for founding America in the first place was to relieve the oppression of the King of England. Patrick Henry said it best, “give me liberty or give me death.” And yet, all too often death seems to be the only way out. Why is there such a high suicide rate especially among teens, in the land of the free & the home of the brave? What makes headlines? Good news? Ha! More depressing stories than anything else. I feel poetry takes an edge off the hurt of bad news while still delivering it but in a, “glitzy” sort of way. Giving a different perspective. Kind of like slap in the face as opposed to a knife in the back. At least with the slap you’ll live to see another day and you will know whom it’s from. I wasn’t here for the beginning of the world but at 59, I just might be here for the end.

Even though it’s still a knife, rhyme poetry helps to dull the blade. And that’s my job. You can write to Luke Easter at: lyricsfromlucas@aol.com




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Luke Easter January 9, 2011 7:41 pm (Pacific time)

Ok! Point well taken. But, do you believe this is the circumstance here? How about this, as a second tier, "A Hailey Alert" because the system is flawed as it only covers, Amber Alerts. There is a reason the Constitution has grown from the original, Bill of Rights. As things change so should we. Not for the worse or status-quo but for the better. It's like being in the ER, you don't take a sore throat that's been waiting for three hours over a gunshot victim that just arrived. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Well, pull out your tool box. If the system wasn't flawed there'd be no need for SalemNews.com and I just can't visualize Tim on tour with KISS.


jess January 9, 2011 7:38 am (Pacific time)

To Luke:Having an amber alert issued for every single child, regardless of the circumstances, would render the amber alert useless. If people are constantly bombarded with an amber alert, it loses effectiveness. In addition, the whole point of the amber alert is to put it on highways with (at bare minimum) a description of the car...hopefully the license plate. It would be very hard to escape a local area where all the residents driving on the road are on high alert. Unfortunately, kids go missing all the time. Many times they are NOT in danger. Many times they go run off with their boyfriends. I'm not saying that is the case here, but it DOES happen. And if we had an amber alert for each one of those cases, people would stop paying attention to amber alerts.

Tim King: It seems that Amber Alert is mostly designed to resolve financial disputes between people who owe back child support, and the government.  I have been taking these in for years and years and Amber Alerts almost always involve an estranged parent; they generally end with parents being arrested and the child being reunited.  However, many of these do not involve abduction; that is also worth noting.  I suspect that as well intentioned as the project was, it, like other good projects, changes direction over time and becomes dependent and influenced by the wrong things.  This is my opinion, but it is based on working with Amber Alert releases for years..  

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