40 years since tragic loss of Maile Gilbert and 20 years of the Maile Amber Alert System

Monday, Aug. 25, 2025 marked the 40th year since 6-year-old Maile Gilbert was abducted and murdered on Oʻahu—a tragedy that led to the creation of Hawaiʻi’s MAILE AMBER Alert system 20 years ago.

The MAILE AMBER Alert has been used a total of five times with each activation resulting in the safe recovery of the abducted child due to the public’s swift and attentive response.   

MAILE AMBER (an acronym for Minor Abducted In Life-Threatening Emergency/America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert is a voluntary partnership between the four county police departments, the Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General’s Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i (MCCH), the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency, the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation and local broadcasters.

It is designed to maximize the dissemination of public information and mobilize the community through light-up highway signs, broadcast and device-based alerts (radio, TV, cell phones), which aid law enforcement in their efforts to locate children and their abductors. 

Attorney General Anne Lopez reflected on the day saying: “As we reflect on Maile’s life and the two decades of progress since the MAILE AMBER Alert’s establishment, we renew our collective commitment to vigilance, prevention and the safety of every child in Hawaiʻi. The success of this system is the result of the collaboration among law enforcement, state agencies, media and the public uniting for the safety of our children. Maile’s legacy continues to save lives.”

“Forty years ago, my parents went through a tragedy that no parent should ever have to face,” said Mindy Gilbert, Maile Gilbert’s surviving sister. “Twenty years ago, when asked if Maile’s name could be used for the state’s missing child alert system, they did not hesitate to say yes.” Gilbert adds, “The alert is an important resource for the police departments, and it is our family’s hope that it is used to help keep other families from going through what we did by getting pertinent information to the public as quickly as possible so that everyone is helping to save a child’s life.”

“Every second counts when a child is abducted,” said Amanda Leonard, MCCH Coordinator who oversees the state’s MAILE AMBER Alert program. “The community plays a truly critical role in the success of the MAILE AMBER Alert system. We urge the public to please keep emergency alerts activated on your cell phone in the event that we need community assistance to locate and protect a child at serious risk.”

For more information about the MAILE AMBER Alert system, visit https://ag.hawaii.gov/cpja/mcch/maile-amber-alert/. Anyone with information regarding missing children or the exploitation of children is encouraged to contact your local police department or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).