Abbott signs Athena Alert bill into law

The Messenger
By Austin Jackson  
on June 13, 2023

Law enforcement will now have a new tool to help locate missing children with Gov. Greg Abbott signing the “Athena Alert” bill into law Tuesday.

The legislation, named after Cottondale 7-year-old Athena Strand, will create a regional alert for missing children. An Athena Alert will be similar to an Amber Alert, but it will allow law enforcement to notify residents within a 100-mile radius and to adjacent counties, even if a child goes missing without verification of an abduction, which is required for the Amber Alert.

Athena Strand

“I would like to thank Governor Abbott and Texas lawmakers for expediting the Athena Alert and for everyone who supported this life-saving legislation,” said Strand’s mother, Maitlyn Gandy, in a press release from the law firm of Varghese Summersett. “It has been six months since Athena was killed and every day has been an indescribable struggle. It gives me comfort to know that Athena’s legacy will live on and help save the lives of other Texas children.”

Strand went missing from her father’s home in Cottondale Nov. 30 of last year, but without initial evidence of an abduction, an Amber Alert was not issued for nearly 24 hours. Two days after she disappeared, delivery driver Tanner Horner led authorities to Strand’s body near Boyd.

“If this alert had been in place when my daughter disappeared, I have no doubt that the Wise County Sheriff’s Office would have activated it,” Gandy said in her testimony to the Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee. “Unfortunately, their hands were tied because my daughter’s disappearance didn’t immediately meet the strict criteria for a statewide Amber alert.

“It was a helpless feeling that I wouldn’t wish on any parent. My hope is that every state will follow Texas’ lead and amend the law so that no other parent has to wait when their child is missing.”

Horner, 31, has been charged with aggravated kidnapping and capital murder and is facing the death penalty. The bill was created and sponsored by Wise County’s representatives in Austin. Rep. Lynn Stucky (R-Sanger) filed House Bill 3556 in March, and it was passed by the Texas House of Representatives on May 9. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound) in the Senate, where it passed May 24.

The Homeland Security and Public Safety committee voted unanimously to advance the bill to the Texas House of Representatives, where it was passed by a 139-3 vote. The bill passed 31-0 in the senate.

In a statement to the Messenger Tuesday, Stucky said it was an honor to work with Gandy and Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin to make the law possible.

“With this being my first session representing Wise County, I wanted to prove that I would be an effective leader on issues that are important to my new constituents. I never thought we would take on a challenge as consequential as the Athena Alerts bill,” Stucky said. “Thank you to Maitlyn Gandy for her strength while testifying in committee, and for having the confidence in my ability to make Athena Alerts the law in Texas. While today is indeed a victory, I hope these regional alerts are a rare occurrence. No parent should feel the fear or the loss that Maitlyn and her family are continuing to navigate.”