HAMPTON, Va. — The CODI Alert Program bill headed to Gov. Glenn Youngkin's (R) desk after it passed the General Assembly Thursday afternoon.
The bill is named in honor of Codi Bigsby, the 4-year-old Hampton boy who was reported missing in Jan. 2022. Authorities have yet to find his body, and is now presumed dead.
Codi's father, Cory Bigsby, is charged with murder in the case.
Disappearance of Codi Bigsby
Cory Bigsby, Hampton man accused in son Codi's death, has pre-trial hearing
Law enforcement have previously said Codi did not meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert at the time of his disappearance, because there a not belief that he had been abducted.
Enter in the idea for the CODI Alert bill, spearheaded by several Virginia lawmakers.
State Delegate A.C. Cordoza (R) who represents Poquoson in addition to portions of Hampton and York County sponsored the bill early on.
"This is going to save children's lives," he told News 3's Jay Greene via Zoom Thursday night.
An AMBER Alert and a CODI Alert are different.
According to state and federal law, the following criteria must be met for an AMBER Alert:
- 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.
News
Cory Bigsby murdered son Codi 7 months before reported missing, court docs claim
CODI Alert stands for Critical Operation for a Disappeared Child Initiative, and according to the bill, it essentially removes the requirement that there needs to be a belief that a child has been abducted.
Lawmakers said that could help start the search for missing children faster.
"It's much less red tape," said Del. Cordoza.
Del. Cordoza said the program would also send out an alert to smartphones that are in a 10-mile radius of where the child lives.
Watch previous coverage: Cory Bigsby, Hampton man accused in son Codi's death, has pre-trial hearing
"Searching quicker is always better," he said. "More eyes on any situation is always better."
State Senator Danny Diggs (R-York County) introduced the legislation in his chamber. Diggs, previously the York-Poquoson sheriff, said while the program isn't mandatory, it could come in handy.
"We often look for kids and found kids like in the backseat of a car. We found a kid one time in the crawlspace of a house," Sen. Diggs told Greene. "So there's lots of these incidents where kids go missing when they're there, there is no indication they've been abducted."
As for Codi's case, his father's trial is scheduled to start next week.
