Amber Alert website brought back online after outcry
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The Obama administration has brought the Amber Alert website back online, following outcry over the site being taken down amid the partial government shutdown.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said a furloughed Justice Department employee was called back to work to restore the website.
The Washington Examiner first reported that the web page for the missing-child alert system -- part of the Office of Justice Programs -- had been taken down.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But by Monday afternoon, www.amberalert.gov was up and running again.
A senior Justice Department official told Fox News that the Amber Alert system itself was never taken down, and that only the website, which is maintained by federal employees, was off-line.
The official said the alerts themselves are sent by state and local law enforcement.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The website that DOJ maintains is informational, and it's not a law-enforcement tool used to issue Amber Alerts.," Carney added. "And at no point during the shutdown has the Amber Alert system been interrupted.
"But to eliminate any confusion among the public about the status of the program, a furloughed Justice Department employee was called into work in order to restore the informational site."