RICHMOND, Va. -- In a standard AMBER Alert, there must be a belief that a child has been abducted.
Now, with the implementation of the CODI Alert, Critical Operation for a Disappeared Child Initiative, that abduction criterion is removed. Law enforcement and lawmakers alike hope this alert will find more missing kids faster.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the CODI Alert into law earlier in 2024. It's named after 4-year-old Codi Bigsby who went missing in 2022.
An AMBER Alert was never issued for Codi because Hampton Police did not believe he had been abducted. His father, Cory, was convicted of murder in the case in March 2024.
State Senator Danny Diggs, a former York County sheriff, championed the CODI Alert along with Delegate A.C. Cordoza.
"Now, we can really get started early on in any kid who's missing under suspicious circumstances, or where the kid's going to be in some kind of danger," Sen. Diggs said.
WATCH: Hampton remembers 4-year-old Codi Bigsby 2 years after he was reported missing
Other criteria for the CODI Alert include that the child must be 17 years old or younger or enrolled in a secondary school, the child's whereabouts must be unknown and the disappearance must be suspicious or pose a credible threat.
In addition, there must be enough information to assist the public and law enforcement.
State Police said almost all missing person alerts — whether Ashanti Alerts, CODI Alerts or AMBER Alerts — initially come from local law enforcement first.
"Then they will contact Virginia State Police, we will see if it fits the criteria for that particular alert, then we will issue the alert," said Matthew Demlein, a spokesperson for Virginia State Police.
Senator Diggs said the alert could have helped Codi had he been reported missing sooner.
"For a long time, we didn't know he was abducted, and he didn't meet that criteria," Diggs said. "But when he became missing, then this program would, would very well could have applied...our situation's very similar to that, at least initially, he didn't meet the criteria."
According to the law, the CODI Alert is voluntary.
Greene asked Diggs if he thought the bill might be too broad or leave children out who might not otherwise be found.
"No, I don't think it'll be a problem," Sen. Diggs said. "I mean, everybody's gonna use it's got room for good judgment in there. Nobody's forced to participate in it, and there'll be a lot of heads coming together to make sure that the program is being used in an appropriate manner."
The CODI Alert is now one of six alert programs available for activation by the Virginia State Police. Other programs include AMBER alerts, Senior Alerts, Critically Missing Adult Alerts, Missing Person with Autism Alerts, and Blue Alerts.
To learn more about the different alert programs, visit the Virginia State Police
website.
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