While the system is widely used across the U.S., a Nevada-based academic told Newsweek that AMBER Alerts are not very effective.

An Amber Alert has been issued for a 7-year-old missing from Jefferson County in northeastern Ohio. Oaklynn Alexander was last seen around 3 p.m. Monday on Midway Street in the city of Empire wearing a gray hoodie, black pants and white shoes. Authorities said she is 4 feet tall and weighs 55 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

An Amber Alert for a 7-year-old girl ended with the suspect, her non-custodial father, shot dead following a police pursuit and shooting on I-71 near Medina.