Tuesday marks 30 years to the day that Arlington third-grader Amber Hagerman was abducted and killed.
Her murder led to the implementation of the Amber Alert system which is now used nationally.
One of those responsible for the creation of the Amber Alert following Hagerman's abduction is retired longtime radio veteran Tyler Cox.
The former KRLD Program Director says the project brought competing radio stations together with law enforcement to help protect children.
"Yes, we're here to inform and to entertain but we're also here to help in times of emergency," Cox said. "Those competitive issues were quickly set aside."
The Amber Alert idea started locally and grew over several years into a national alert system.
"The Federal Communications Commission has a phrase that radio and TV stations are licensed in the public interest, convenience, and necessity, and sometimes we forget about that," Cox said. "We were able to remind everybody that that's what we're here for."
Since then, the Amber Alert system moved from an emergency notification system between radio and TV stations using fax machines into a digital world with push notifications and Department of Transportation road sign alerts.