Missing Children, NCMEC, AMBER Alert, State Clearinghouse

Texas Missing Children

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Texas missing children: how DPS issues AMBER Alerts and what the Athena Alert law changed, the Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse, the Silver, CLEAR and Blue Alerts, how to report and where records go.

Guide

Texas Missing Children at a Glance

Texas runs one of the largest state alert systems in the country. The Texas Department of Public Safety keeps the Missing Persons Clearinghouse and issues AMBER Alerts, and the state has added a family of other alerts over the years, and in 2023, after the death of Athena Strand in Wise County, the legislature passed the Athena Alert law, which allows local AMBER activation before every criterion is verified. In Texas, reports go to the city police or the county sheriff, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children can post the case nationally once the police enter it in the FBI's database and the family or the agency agrees. There is no waiting period.

Texas has more than 250 counties and hundreds of city police departments, so the first report goes to the local agency, and the Department of Public Safety takes over the statewide broadcast.

Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.

Guide

How AMBER Alerts work in Texas

The Texas Department of Public Safety activates an AMBER Alert at the request of the investigating agency when a child under 18 has been abducted, is believed to be in danger of serious harm or death, and there is enough information about the child, the abductor or a vehicle to help the public. The alert reaches radio and television through the Emergency Alert System, phones through the wireless emergency alert system, the Texas Department of Transportation highway signs, and the state lottery terminals, and it can be issued regionally for one part of the state or statewide. Alerts near the border are shared with the Mexican authorities. The 2023 Athena Alert law allows local AMBER activation before every criterion is verified; it did not create a separate alert, and the channels and the issuing agency are unchanged.

Guide

Texas missing children clearinghouse and how to report

The Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse in the Department of Public Safety keeps the statewide file of missing children and adults and of unidentified remains, posts a searchable public listing with photos, runs the state's missing persons hotline, coordinates with the National Center and NamUs, and helps local agencies with long term cases. Start with the city police or the county sheriff, get the case number, and check that the child is in the National Crime Information Center, which every police agency in the country can see in Texas. The same holds in Texas: the next call is to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth and El Paso police have their own missing persons units, and the Texas Rangers join abductions in smaller counties.

Guide

Other Texas alerts and where the records go

Beyond the AMBER Alert, Texas issues the Silver Alert for seniors with cognitive impairment, the Endangered Missing Persons Alert for people with intellectual disabilities, the CLEAR Alert for missing adults between 18 and 64 who are in danger, and the Blue Alert for suspects who have injured or killed a peace officer. Here too, in Texas, the records stay with the investigating agency. Under the Texas Public Information Act, basic incident facts are public while records of an active investigation can be withheld, and juvenile records are confidential. The same holds in Texas: older cases reach NamUs only when the investigating agency or the family submits them and the agency approves publication, so the public NamUs search shows a share of the state's open cases, not all of them.

Guide

Federal & National Authoritative Sources

These federal and national sources complement Texas's state-level records. They are the authoritative sources you should cross-check when Texas state records are incomplete or out-of-state activity matters.

NCMEC, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Congressionally authorized national clearinghouse for missing children. NCMEC operates the 24-hour hotline 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) and the CyberTipline for exploitation reports.

AMBER Alert, U.S. Department of Justice The federally coordinated AMBER Alert network. Each state operates its own plan under DOJ AMBER Alert Program guidance.

NISMART, National Incidence Study OJJDP's periodic survey of missing-child incidence in the United States, the authoritative federal statistical source.

Straight answers

Texas Missing Children, questions

What is the Athena Alert in Texas?

Not a separate alert. The 2023 law, named for Athena Strand of Wise County, allows local AMBER activation before every criterion is verified; it did not create a separate alert, and the alert still goes out as an AMBER Alert from the Department of Public Safety.

Who issues AMBER Alerts in Texas?

The Texas Department of Public Safety, at the request of the investigating agency, when a child under 18 has been abducted and is in danger. Alerts can be regional or statewide.

Where is the Texas list of missing persons?

The Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse in the Department of Public Safety posts a searchable listing with photos, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and NamUs list the cases that the agency and the family agree to publish.