State police to begin using ‘CODI’ alerts for some missing children

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Virginia State Police will now issue “CODI” alerts for missing or endangered children.

“CODI” - or “Critical Operation for a Disappeared Child Initiative” - alerts were approved by the 2024 General Assembly and named for Codi Bigsby, a 4-year-old from Hampton who was reported missing in 2022 and has never been found.

Certain criteria must be met for a CODI Alert to be issued:

• 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,” state police said Thursday.

Police also described the difference between a CODI Alert and the existing AMBER Alert: “Though not a criterion for CODI Alert activation, an abduction is believed to have taken place prior to the activation of the AMBER Alert.”

In addition to CODI and AMBER alerts, there are now six alert programs available for activation by Virginia State Police:

• 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)
• Blue Alerts (missing law enforcement officer or an ongoing search for a suspect involved in the death or injury of an officer).

Active alerts can be viewed on the Virginia State Police website.