Houston college student Idania Campos was reported missing on Nov. 28. Tragically, during the search for her, Campos’s family found her dead in the trunk of her car. Campos’s ex-boyfriend Ariel Cruz is charged with murder in her death.
The case has prompted questions about why a CLEAR alert, which in its simplest terms is an Amber Alert for missing adults, wasn’t issued.
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KPRC 2 reached out to the Houston Police Department for more information on why a CLEAR Alert wasn’t issued in this case.
Their response: “For a CLEAR Alert to be issued, the case must meet certain criteria. If those criteria are not met then there will be no CLEAR Alert.”
Below, we cover what a CLEAR Alert is and when it’s issued.
What is a CLEAR Alert?
Overseen by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the CLEAR Alert program is an urgent bulletin system established in Texas that is activated in some cases of missing, kidnapped, or abducted adults who are in immediate danger.
It uses electronic highway signs to announce the name and a description of the missing or abducted adult, plus descriptions of any vehicle involved.
The CLEAR Alert program was designed “to close the gap between missing children and senior citizens,” according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
What are the criteria for an alert?
These are the CLEAR Alert criteria for the state’s network, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety:
- Is the individual 18 to 64 years of age whose whereabouts are unknown?
- Has a preliminary investigation verified the adult is in imminent danger of bodily injury or death, or is the disappearance involuntary, such as an abduction or kidnapping?
- Is the CLEAR Alert request within 72 hours of the individual’s disappearance?
- Is sufficient information available to disseminate to the public to help locate the individual, a suspect, or the vehicle used in the incident?
What’s the story behind the alert?
The CLEAR Alert was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in May 2019 and went into effect on Sept. 1, 2019.
Formally, the acronym “CLEAR” stands for Coordinated Law Enforcement Adult Rescue. Informally, the name of the alert in part honors several victims of violence: Cayley Mandadi, D’Lisa Kelley, Erin Castro, Ashanti Billie, and the Rest (other unnamed adults whose lives might have been saved if the CLEAR Alert had existed at the time of their deaths).
Mandadi’s mother, Alison Steele, was instrumental in getting the legislation passed after her daughter’s death in 2017.
Mandadi, a 19-year-old Trinity sophomore, went missing Halloween weekend. She was later located with severe injuries and died. Her boyfriend, Mark Howerton, was charged with murder, sexual assault and kidnapping in her death.
At the time of Mandadi’s disappearance, there was no program in place for law enforcement to broadcast information about missing adults ages 18-64. Nineteen, Mandadi did not qualify for the AMBER alert program, which notifies the public of missing children 17 and younger. The only other alert system in Texas at the time, the Silver alert program, was for missing adults 65 years of age or older with a mental condition.
Mandadi’s mother created the CLEAR Alert program in her daughter’s memory. To support the program, Steele formed the nonprofit Cayley’s Calling, which provides presentations to law enforcement agencies and other groups about best practices for implementing the CLEAR Alert.
Are CLEAR Alerts underutilized?
In 2022, KPRC 2 spoke with Steele about the status of CLEAR Alerts in Texas.
She told KPRC 2′s investigative team that the program could be used more widely and effectively.
“It’s kind of a mixed bag right now,” said Steele.
Read more from that report here.
To learn more about the CLEAR Alert and how to request assistance for a missing adult in Texas, visit the Texas Department of Public Safety website.