FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Tuesday marks 27 years since the tragic case that sparked Georgia's Amber Alert system, known as a Levi's Call, as we know it today.
On this day many years ago, Oct. 22, 1997, 11-year-old Levi Frady was out playing with his friends when he hopped on his bike to head home at dusk. Frady never made it back to his family. He was abducted, brutally murdered and dumped in a wooded area.
The anniversary of his mysterious disappearance is one that authorities today are still trying to solve. Frady's body was found in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area in Dawson County. He was last seen on Little Mill Road in Forsyth County.
Investigators are seeking the public's help in identifying two witnesses in his murder case.
The first person in question was seen walking along Little Mill Road in Forsyth County at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 22, the day Levi was reported missing. He is described as a white male in his late 50s 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 is what the following witnesses may have looked like, according to a sketch artist:
RELATED: 20 years after his murder: Little Levi Frady's legacy lives on, through Georgia's Levi's Call
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 aged 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.
