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Richard Piatt ReportingSalt Lake police have canceled an Amber alert for a kidnapped girl.
On Tuesday, a witness told police a man pulled a child into a van. Detectives say they're not sure if the incident was a child abduction. They say no one has reported a girl missing.
Still, they encourage anyone to report anything suspicious.
Det. Kevin Joiner: "We would rather people call and it turn out to be nothing than something occur and not have a call on it."
Police will continue to investigate and follow up on leads.
The Amber Alert as a law enforcement tool receives overwhelming support in spite of a recent Salt Lake City case that fizzed out. Officials called off the Amber Alert in a case that relied only on a witness, not confirmed by police.
That case involved a young girl, allegedly forced into a van Tuesday in a Sugar House parking lot. In spite of the possibility of a false Amber Alert, there is still strong support for the program There are always worried that too many false reports might lead to a 'cried wolf' situation. But an exclusive Eyewitness News poll shows most people think that 'better safe than sorry' attitude is worth it.
It's three days later, and no one is backing up the story of a girl placed in a van against her will in this parking lot Tuesday. No missing person reports. No other witnesses have come forward. The lack of information sparked police to cancel an Amber Alert Friday morning.
Kevin Joyner, Salt Lake City Police: "This is still an open case. We will continue to investigate it; we will continue to follow up on any leads that we get."
Even though the Sugar House case could be perceived as a false alarm, an exclusive Survey USA poll for Eyewitness news shows most people strongly support the Amber Alert program. Of 500 people in our survey, 64 percent say they closely pay attention to Amber Alerts; 30 percent say they pay moderate attention to them. A small minority indicate they ignore the alert.
Was the alert appropriate? The majority in the poll have the opinion it was. 77 percent say Amber Alerts should be issued as soon as possible, if the case meets 'alert criteria'. Only 20 percent think there should be official confirmation first.
Many people worry when they hear stories like that of five-year old Evelyn Miller of Floyd Iowa, taken from her home in early July, but no Amber Alert immediately issued. She was later found dead.
Richard Christie, Grandfather: "This is probably the single most stressful life event I've been through. We thought from the outset this was some sort of kidnapping."
In Utah alerts are issued if police believe there was an abduction of a child under 17, believed to be in imminent danger, and if they think they public could help.
Paul Murphy, Utah Attorney General Spokesman: "We don't want the Amber Alert to be over-used or under-used. And we want police officers to feel comfortable to use the Amber Alert if they feel a child's life is in danger or if they feel the child has been kidnapped."
Our survey also shows most people think Amber Alerts are effective at finding missing children. More than half call them 'very effective'. So far, there have been a few reports of the Amber Alerts being abused, but there have also been cases here in Utah where an alert could have been issued, but wasn't.
