SUNSET, Utah — The Utah Department of Public Safety is giving a heads up to residents that a test of the AMBER Alert system will take place on Thursday at 4 p.m. For one Utah family, the alerts bring up both painful and comforting memories.
Elaine Runyan gave her perspective on the AMBER Alert system, more than 40 years after her daughter, Rachael, was kidnapped and killed.
VIDEO: Utah mother remembers daughter kidnapped and killed in 1982
Just 3 years old at the time of the kidnapping in 1982, Rachel was taken in broad daylight close to her family's Sunset home. The incident sparked statewide "RACHAEL Alerts" before the nationwide AMBER Alert system was later implemented.
It wasn't until three weeks after Rachel was kidnapped that her body would be found on the outskirts of Morgan County.
"It was like 24 days, and then this family out for a Sunday afternoon, the kids wanted to get out and they ran down to a stream in Morgan Canyon and pulled some shrubbery away and a doll came up. And it was my little baby,” Elaine remembered. "When she was found and I got the news, it was, it was almost a relief, you know, that someone wasn't hurting her anymore."
While nothing will ever take away the pain of losing her daughter, Elaine takes comfort in the way the AMBER Alert system has helped bring about the safe return of other missing children. "It takes all of us, right? It takes the community, it takes a village, it takes a state because you don't know where they're going," she explained.
Last week, two children were rescued thanks to the AMBER Alert issued after they were allegedly taken by their father in Riverdale.
WATCH: Man accused of killing the mother of his two children appears in court
Thursday's test is meant to make sure first responders and other Utahns are familiar with the alert system and prepared to jump into action when needed.
"The purpose of the AMBER Alert is to call on the public to assist in that recovery, the safe recovery of a child," explained Mandy Biesigner, the Field Services Supervisor for the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification. "So we appreciate whenever the public does respond to those alerts and takes them seriously, um, as it has continually shown over time that that public assistance really does make a difference."
Thursday's test will be sent out at 4:00 p.m. Officials say there is no reason to call the police, just make sure that the AMBER Alert appears on your phone. The test alert will also appear on some traffic signs across the state.
