The Girl Behind the Alert airs on Oxygen
Amber Hagerman, a girl from Arlington, Texas, was just nine years old when her precious life ended when an unknown man kidnapped and murdered her in cold-blooded in 1996. Amber's heartbreaking story is being investigated and depicted in the new documentary, Amber: The Girl Behind the Alert, which will air on Oxygen on Monday, March 20, 2023.
The official description of the documentary reads:
"For the first and last time, Amber Hagerman's mother details her daughter's shocking murder and shares chilling documentary footage that captures the 9-year-old's final days; Amber's legacy is an alert system that has saved over a thousand children."Dating back to 1996, the tragic incident shook Amber's mother, Donna Whitson, now Norris, and father, Richard Hagerman, to their core. They broke down and couldn't believe their little girl was no more. Unfortunately, the case remains unresolved, as even after 27 years, the murderer is yet to be arrested.
Since the news of Amber: The Girl Behind the Alert was released, viewers have been curious about what happened to Amber's parents over the years.
Amber Hagerman's mother is a child safety campaigner and her dad passed away in 2007
Since her daughter's demise, Donna has been a strong voice for children's safety. She is a proud child safety campaigner. However, Amber's father Richard Hagerman passed away in 2007.
As per Local Today, at the end of 1995, just before the horrifying incident that took away Amber's life, Donna and Richard got divorced. After their divorce, 9-year-old Amber and her 5-year-old brother Rickey began residing with their mother.
Donna and Richard both desperately wanted justice for their daughter, as they mourned the unimaginable death of the little girl. Inspired by Amber's tragic demise when the AMBER Alert System or America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response Alert was created in the same year.
As per All That's Interesting, Donna said in a 2016 statement:
"There’s another part of me that wonders what would have happened if we would have had the alert when Amber went missing. Could it have helped bring her back to me?"Since then, Donna has kept on looking for answers to get justice for her daughter's ruthless murder and to see the sinister murderer behind bars.
In an interview with KSAT, she said:
"I miss her every day and she’s just so full of life and I want to know why. Why her? She was only a little girl. And to Amber’s killer, I’m asking you today: Please turn yourself in,...Give Amber justice. Amber needs justice, deeply, deeply needs justice. And to anyone who has seen or heard anything about Amber’s case, please come forward."Amber's father, Richard Hagerman, deeply struggled over the years to cope with the grief after his daughter's death. He also wanted to see the culprit imprisoned. He faced difficulty with employment and as a coping mechanism, reportedly started developing a drinking habit and soon became an addict. Unfortunately, Richard died while seeking justice for his beloved daughter in 2007.
The AMBER Alert System has saved more than 1000 children from offenders since its implementation. It’s something that makes Amber's mother Donna 'very proud.' She told KSAT:
"The AMBER Alert, I’m very very proud of it because it is... helping to save our children’s lives. It’s helped bring our children back to mommy and daddy and so it’s another legacy from my daughter that she didn’t die in vain. That she is still taking care of our little children as she did when she was here and I’m very very proud of my daughter and for all she has done for our children here."Catch Amber: The Girl Behind the Alert, which arrives on Oxygen on Monday, March 20, 2023, at 8 pm ET.
More from Sportskeeda
" modalPopup.closeOnEsc = false; modalPopup.setHeader("Why did you not like this content?"); modalPopup.setContentText(modalText); modalPopup.addCancelOkButton("Submit", resetRatingAndFeedbackForm, sendRating); modalPopup.removeCloseModalIcon(); modalPopup.disableDismissPopup(); modalPopup.open(); } else { sendRating(index); } } function sendRating() { var requestPayload = { "post_id": 1439978, "rating_value": ratingValue } if (ratingValue > 3) { requestPayload.rating_feedback_type = null; requestPayload.rating_feedback = null; } else { if (!$('input[name="drone"]:checked') || !$('input[name="drone"]:checked').value) { showErrorMessage('option'); return; } if (!$(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea") || !$(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea").value) { showErrorMessage('note'); return; } var selectedOption = $('input[name="drone"]:checked').value; var feedbackNote = $(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea").value; requestPayload.rating_feedback_type = selectedOption; requestPayload.rating_feedback = feedbackNote; } pureJSAjaxPost(addratingAPI, requestPayload, onsaveRatingSuccess, onsaveRatingFail, function() {}, true); } function resetRatingAndFeedbackForm() { var activeStars = Array.from($all('.rating span.rating-star.active')); for (var i=0; i < activeStars.length; i++) { activeStars[i].classList.remove("active"); } if ($('input[name="drone"]:checked')) { $('input[name="drone"]:checked').checked = false; } var userNote = document.querySelector(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea"); userNote.value = ''; modalPopup.close(); } function onsaveRatingSuccess() { modalPopup.close(); savePostIdInUserRatedPostsCookie(); $("#post-rating-layout").classList.add("hidden"); $("#post-rating-message").classList.remove("hidden"); window.setInterval(function showMessage() { $("#post-rating-widget").classList.add("hidden"); }, 3000); } function onsaveRatingFail() { console.error('Saving post rating failed!'); modalPopup.close(); } function savePostIdInUserRatedPostsCookie() { userRatedPostIds.push(1439978); var expiryTime = new Date(); expiryTime.setMonth(expiryTime.getMonth() + 12); // Expiry after 1 year setCookie("user_rated_post_ids", JSON.stringify(userRatedPostIds), expiryTime); } function isPostRatedByUser() { var userRatedPostIds = getCookie('user_rated_post_ids'); if (userRatedPostIds) { try { userRatedPostIds = JSON.parse(userRatedPostIds); } catch (err) { console.error(err); return false; } } else { return false; } if(userRatedPostIds.indexOf(1439978) >= 0) { return true; } else { return false; } } function getRatingCountByPostId(postId) { return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) { pureJSAjaxGet( getRatingCountBaseURL + postId + '/rating/count', function(data) { try { data = JSON.parse(data); if (data.meta_value) { resolve(data.meta_value); } reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); } catch (err) { reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); } }, function(err) { reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); }, true); }); } function showErrorMessage(messageType) { var messageContainerId = '#' + messageType + '-error'; $(messageContainerId).classList.remove('hidden'); window.setInterval(function () { $(messageContainerId).classList.add("hidden"); }, 5000); } (function() { var callFired = false; function lazyLoadPostRating() { if (callFired) return; callFired = true; if (!isPostRatedByUser()) { getRatingCountByPostId(1439978) .then(function(ratingCount) { if (ratingCount < 10) { $("#post-rating-widget").classList.remove("hidden"); } }) .catch(function(err){ console.error(err); }); } } document.addEventListener("scroll", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); document.addEventListener("mousemove", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); document.addEventListener("touchmove", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); })();ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tLzOq6uso5WasaJ6wqikaKifpXqkwcutrKudX6y1pr7EZpimmpWneqmtxp6pppmeYsBuvMCrnKeso2K7sMOMsJ%2BeqpWWr7DB06xknrCgobyzscNmmKaalad6tbTEZp6iqpxir6a0yKebZpmcmr%2B1ecCiqaxln63GqLHN