A brand new bill has taken one step nearer to turning into a regulation in Texas, following the homicide of 7-year-old Athena Strand in November remaining 12 months. HB 3556 would permit regulation enforcement to factor a regional alert inside a 100-mile radius when a kid is going lacking, with out assembly the factors for a statewide AMBER Alert. This “Athena Alert” would make sure that lacking kid information is delivered extra promptly to the general public in instances the place the factors for an AMBER Alert have now not been absolutely met. This commonplace sense regulation is meant to complement the AMBER Alert device, which has stored the lives of loads of youngsters. Gandy’s legal professional, Benson Varghese, known as the bill commonplace sense regulation, which might now not lead to further taxes at the public. If handed within the Senate, the bill might be signed into regulation by way of Gov. Greg Abbott.
“If a localized alert have been issued once Athena went lacking, it will have made a distinction,” mentioned Athena’s mom, Maitlyn Gandy, in a commentary. Gandy believes that regulation enforcement sought after to factor an alert on the time of Athena’s disappearance however, beneath the present standards, they may now not. Moreover, Varghese is of the opinion that as a result of Athena Alerts are native, extra other people can pay nearer consideration to them, and the probabilities of a kid being discovered will build up.
Athena used to be kidnapped from her Texas house on November 30, 2020, and killed by way of a freelance motive force for FedEx. The motive force, Tanner Horner, has since been indicted on capital homicide and irritated kidnapping fees, with prosecutors in search of the dying penalty. During wondering, Horner mentioned that he had panicked after hitting Athena along with his supply automobile and had strangled her to dying in concern of the results that will observe.