Madison, Wis. -- As part of raising awareness for National Missing Children Day tomorrow, the Wisconsin Lottery announced it will soon be implementing a new communications tool in support of the "Prince Act" – Wisconsin Act 272 – which expanded the state's criteria for issuing alerts for missing children.

A participant of the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) AMBER Alert program since 2004, the Lottery is developing a new missing child alert announcement that will be viewable on all Lottery retailer terminals across the state starting in August. The new announcement will contain descriptive information about missing children and contact information for citizens to connect with the appropriate law enforcement agency.

The missing child announcement will be viewable at more than 3,700 Lottery retail locations whenever an alert is initiated. It is intended to help authorities disseminate information about missing child cases quickly and have expanded resources to alert the public.

"Something important we can do to help is to be another set of eyes for our law enforcement agencies across the state," said Wisconsin Lottery Director Cindy Polzin. "Our retail partners have been a great resource in support of both AMBER and Silver Alerts."

According to a May 23, 2023, DOJ press release, since Wisconsin implemented its AMBER Alert program in 2003, there were 57 AMBER Alert activations. In over 50% of the cases, the AMBER Alert broadcast itself played a role in the recovery of the children.

In addition to the AMBER Alert program, the Wisconsin Lottery also participates in the Silver Alert network to help find missing seniors with Alzheimer's, dementia, or other cognitive impairments.

Silver Alerts posted to Wisconsin Lottery terminals have led to missing at-risk adults being found safe. An example took place in 2016 when a gas station clerk from the Jackson Point Citgo in Green Bay helped an at-risk senior return home safely just over an hour after seeing a Silver Alert notice on the Lottery screen. The incident was one of five cases in 2016 where a Wisconsin Lottery retailer helped locate an individual that was missing.