RICHMOND – Virginia State Police will now be issuing “CODI” or “Critical Operation for a Disappeared Child Initiative” alerts to aid in the searches of missing or endangered children. The alert was approved by the 2024 General Assembly and will be issued upon request by the investigating law enforcement agency. The alert is named for Codi Bigsby, a four-year old from Hampton who was reported missing in 2022 and has never been found.
For a CODI Alert to be issued, certain criteria must be met. The child must be 17 years of age or younger or be currently enrolled in a secondary school in the Commonwealth, regardless of age. The child’s whereabouts must be unknown, and the disappearance must be under suspicious circumstances or pose a credible threat as determined by law enforcement to the safety and health of the child and under such other circumstances as deemed appropriate by the Virginia State Police. There must also be sufficient information available to disseminate to the public to assist in location. Any investigating agency who believes a missing child meets these criteria shall contact the Virginia State Police to pursue the activation of the alert.
The primary difference between the existing AMBER Alert and the new CODI Alert is the element of abduction. Though not a criterion for CODI Alert activation, an abduction is believed to have taken place prior to the activation of the AMBER Alert.
The CODI Alert is now one of six alert programs now available for activation by the Virginia State Police. In addition to the CODI and AMBER alerts, state police can also issue Senior Alerts (over 60 years of age with cognitive impairment), Critically Missing Adult Alerts (18 years of age or older, whose disappearance poses a credible threat to safety and health), Missing Person with Autism Alerts (autism spectrum disorder, whose disappearance poses a credible threat to safety and health), and Blue Alerts (missing law enforcement officer or an ongoing search for a suspect involved in the death or injury of an officer). For more information on the criteria for each, visit https://vsp.virginia.gov/active-alerts/.
In 2023, Virginia State Police, at the request of local law enforcement agencies, issued 6 AMBER Alerts, 42 Senior Alerts, 30 Critically Missing Adult Alerts, and 3 Missing Person with Autism Alerts. There were no Blue Alerts in 2023.
