Twenty years ago on Sunday, Oct. 22, 11-year-old Levi Frady had spent the day playing with his friends. It was getting dark, but Levi’s Forsyth County home was less than a mile away, and he and his trusty bike had made the trip dozens of times.
Tragically, on this evening, Levi would not make it home. He was abducted, driven to a neighboring county, and brutally murdered. The next day, his body was found in a wooded area.
Today, police are still searching for his killer.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, law enforcement and emergency management officials, along with Georgia broadcasters, partnered with Levi's family to create Levi's Call, which is Georgia’s version of the Amber Alert.
The program was designed to get the word out to the public via radio and television within minutes of a confirmed abduction. Its goal is simple: Locate a child and an abductor quickly before any harm comes to the child.
Before his disappearance, Levi had last been seen on Little Mill Road in Forsyth County. His body was found the next day in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area in Dawson County. Little Mill Road is a well-traveled road between Highway 306 and 369.
Police are still seeking the public's help in identifying two possible witnesses to Levi’s murder.
The first person in question was seen walking along Little Mill Road in Forsyth County at 6:30 p.m. on October 22, the day Levi was reported missing. He is described as a white male in his late 50's, with a scruffy, gray beard. He was wearing a faded blue baseball cap and walked in a stooped fashion.
The second potential witness was seen in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area. He is described as a white male, 45 to 55 years of age, clean shaven, 6' 0" to 6' 1" tall, slim build with white or gray hair. He was driving a 1980 to 1985 medium blue Toyota, 2-wheel drive, pick-up truck with a white camper shell over the bed of the vehicle.
Here's how a Levi's Call works:
Levi's Call is an investigative tool that can be activated only by local law enforcement agencies through a request to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
When an abduction is confirmed and investigators determine that the case meets Alert Criteria, they contact the respective GBI regional office. The GBI verifies that the use of an alert is justified and works with the local investigator to draft an alert bulletin.
The GBI then requests activation through the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, which transmits the bulletin via the EAS to broadcasters. GEMA, in cooperation with law enforcement, determines whether the alert should be broadcast statewide or regionally. Broadcasters are requested to run the alert at least twice the first hour and once every hour for the next three hours.
Local law enforcement also must supply the GBI with a photograph of the child for dissemination to the media.
Before Levi's Call can be activated, the following Alert Criteria must be met:
- Law enforcement officials have a reasonable belief that an abduction has occurred.
- Law enforcement officials believe that the child is in imminent danger or serious bodily injury or death.
- Enough descriptive information exists about the victim and the abductor for law enforcement to issue a Levi's Call: Georgia's AMBER Alert.
- The victim of the abduction is a child age 17 years or younger.
- The child's name and other critical data elements - including the child abduction (CA) and AMBER Alert (AA) flags - have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system.
Activation will not be granted for non-custodial abductions where no danger exists to the child, or runaways.
