A father is accused of abducting his three children after stabbing their mother in Virginia Beach Wednesday night.
Maryland authorities say one of the children, a 1-year-old girl, died Thursday morning after her father, 36-year-old Dana Plummer, crashed his Honda Passport.
The girl's two brothers, ages 5 and 7, were injured in the crash as well, police said.
Watch: 1-year-old dies, 2 children hospitalized after VB abduction ends in crash in Maryland
Many people woke up to loud alert tones coming from their phones after an AMBER Alert was issued for the children around 2 a.m. on Thursday.
The alert has been canceled, but the News 3 Investigative Team wanted to follow through with more details on why it took a few hours to get out.
Virginia State Police shared the following statement with News 3 about the process of issuing an AMBER Alert for the abduction of the children:
Per Virginia Code, the Virginia State Police is the issuing agency of missing person alerts within the Commonwealth.
Late Wednesday night (Aug. 14, 2024), investigators with the Virginia Beach Police Department contacted State Police to request an AMBER Alert be issued for the abduction of three young children by Dana D. Plummer. As is standard procedure, as soon as a request is received, State Police immediately begin working with the requesting agency to assess and fulfill the required criteria. This includes verifying all biographical information, vehicle information, and obtaining the necessary photographs from the requesting agency. Once this is completed, the AMBER Alert is issued, which triggers a series of activations and alerts (https://vsp.virginia.gov/active-alerts/amber-alert/ [vsp.virginia.gov]).
The Virginia State Police understands that immediacy is imperative when receiving a request to issue and activate an AMBER Alert. Activation complications were encountered with the Everbridge software and the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) platform. However, the AMBER Alert was successfully activated, which resulted in the State Police recovery of the children and apprehension of the suspect.
State Police has been in contact with FEMA, who operates and controls IPAWS, regarding some of the incomplete messaging, and we anticipate a quick and thorough resolution.
Crime analyst Richard James said any time there is a child in danger, the call is taken very seriously.
“Not only by the local police departments, but [a child in danger] is also taken seriously by the state police,” said James.
Virginia Beach police tell us there are several steps taken before an AMBER Alert can go out and they need to meet certain criteria through their investigation.
“They have to find and investigate: Who are the children? Who are the victims? Are they in danger? Did someone take them to the hospital? All those things had to be discovered. Once the police are satisfied that the information is accurate, then, and only then, can they put out that AMBER Alert,” said James.
Watch: Aerial footage shows scene following crash in Prince George's County
According to state code, police gather the information for the investigation and then give it to state police, who ultimately make the decision about whether an AMBER Alert will be issued.
Criteria for the Activation of the AMBER Alert Plan is as follows, according to Virginia State Police:
- The abducted child must be 17 years of age or younger or currently enrolled in a secondary school in the Commonwealth, regardless of age, and the reporting law enforcement agency believes the child has been abducted (unwillingly taken from their environment without permission from the child’s parent or legal guardian).
- The law enforcement agency believes the missing child is in imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death.
- A law enforcement investigation has taken place that verified the abduction or eliminated alternative explanations.
- Sufficient information is available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the child, suspect, and/or the suspect’s vehicle.
- The child must be entered into the Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) missing person files as soon as practical.
If all of the aforementioned criteria are not met, the Virginia AMBER Alert Plan will not be activated.
“Once they determine that it's credible information, then they can distribute that information. There's no set time there but you want to put out that information as soon as possible,” said James.
James said it’s vital that the information given out is accurate.
He said an AMBER Alert can take minutes or hours to send out and witness statements can drastically help an investigation.
Law enforcement reports that as of 2023, the AMBER Alert program has contributed to the recovery of 1,200 children.
