NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- The murder of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu in Tracy , California , has brought America 's Amber Alert program under the microscope . Sandra vanished in broad daylight on March 27 . Surveillance video from that afternoon showed her happily skipping to go play at her friend 's house . After she failed to return home , her family alerted the authorities , but an Amber Alert was not issued . Ten days later , Sandra 's body was found stuffed inside a piece of luggage in an irrigation ditch near her home . The frantic search for the killer may be over , as police arrested Melissa Huckaby on April 10 and charged her with murder . This horrifying case raises the question -- why did n't police issue an Amber Alert when Sandra vanished ? Tracy Police have done an excellent job in this case , but could that have made a difference in saving this girl 's life ? First , we must examine what an Amber Alert does . According to amberalert.gov , the program is a `` partnership between law-enforcement agencies , broadcasters , transportation agencies , and the wireless industry , to activate an urgent bulletin '' and is saved for `` the most serious child abduction cases . '' The goal is to blitz the area with information to spark a community-wide search . Secondarily , the alerts serve as deterrents . Some abductors have actually freed the kidnapped child after hearing or seeing the alert . This happened in California in January when a man abducted an 8-year-old girl . After observing a highway sign broadcasting an Amber Alert for the girl , the suspect dropped the girl off in San Jose before turning himself in to police . In California , where Sandra was murdered , 141 children have been safely recovered as a result of Amber Alerts since 2002 , according to the California Highway Patrol . The Amber Alert Web site claims the program has saved more than 430 children nationwide and that in 2007 , 80 percent of kids alerted were recovered safely within three days . That is incredibly fast and effective -- two words that are n't often used to describe a government program . With such a high success rate , some may wonder why the program is n't used more frequently . A grisly case like the Sandra Cantu murder only intensifies this debate . The main reason for the limited use of the program is that Amber Alert cases must meet very specific criteria . Otherwise , the alerts will be issued too often , creating a `` boy who cried wolf '' scenario . People will become desensitized and stop taking the alerts seriously . After all , Department of Justice reports about 800,000 missing child cases any given year . Very few of those -- slightly more than 100 -- are stereotypical `` kidnappings . '' Over half of the 800,000 are kids who ran away , or simply lost track of time , or are part of custody disputes . But the DOJ 's Amber Alert guidelines are designed to focus on those rare abductions by strangers or slight acquaintances . To maintain this focus , the department recommends that Amber Alerts only be issued when the child is at risk of serious injury or death and law enforcement has sufficient descriptive information about the child , abductor or abductor 's vehicle . Some argue that Sandra 's case met those criteria . But it 's easy to Monday-morning quarterback . The fact is , Tracy Police made a swift arrest and should be applauded . They used the full extent of their resources to try to safely recover Sandra , including dispensing an electronic alert to West Coast law enforcement agencies , heading a massive search effort and speaking to the media . We 'll never know for sure if an Amber Alert would have saved Sandra 's life . Police now say it appears she died before the search even began . Nevertheless , this case does suggest the Amber Alert system can be improved by refining some of the gray areas . For instance , the DOJ has guidelines , but states are free to tweak them . That 's why you 'll often hear law enforcement in some states say they ca n't issue an Amber Alert without a vehicle description , while others do n't follow that rule . All state law enforcement agencies should have to adhere exactly to one set of rules . The guidelines are supposedly in place to minimize delays and confusion between jurisdictions . Well , you know what would really minimize delays and confusion ? A single , uniform system . Secondly , with today 's technology , the Amber Alert program must be expanded . We 're no longer just talking about highway signs and C.B . radio . Agencies should harness GPS and wireless technology , to the point that everyone with a cell phone or BlackBerry will receive a notification when there is an Amber Alert in the area . Lastly , the program is a voluntary partnership . Why not make it mandatory for all agencies that have the capability to use the system ? There is no denying the Amber Alert program is a shining example of how a government initiative is supposed to work . Let 's just make sure we harness its full capabilities . Our children deserve nothing less . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jane Velez-Mitchell .
Jane Velez-Mitchell : Some ask why no Amber Alert issued for missing Sandra Cantu . The search is on for a woman who disappeared in the San Francisco Bay Area last week. Velez-Mitchell : Amber Alerts have saved many children 's lives . She says the program should be refined to make it even better .