What you should know about Levi’s Call and how it’s activated

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – On October 22, 1997, after a day of playing with his friends, 11-year-old Levi Frady headed toward his rural Forsyth County home as it was getting dark.

His house was less than a mile away, and he made the trip on his bike numerous times, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

Tragically, that 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.

Levi Frady (Picture from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations )

Levi’s Call

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.

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 GBI.

When an abduction is confirmed and investigators determine that the case meets Alert Criteria, they contact the respective GBI regional office. 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

The GBI says overuse of Levi’s Call will cause the program to be ineffective.