Virginia has a new tool to help in efforts to find missing children police believe are in danger, but not officially abducted. The tool has been successful in identifying the whereabouts of three children within the last two weeks. 

Approved by the 2024 General Assembly, Virginia State Police will now be able to issue CODI alerts. The acronym CODI stands for Critical Operation for a Disappeared Child Initiative and was named after Codi Bigsby, a Hampton, VA, four-year-old reported missing in 2022 and never found.  

Bigsby was reported missing, but because Hampton Police Department did not believe the child was abducted, no AMBER alert was issued.

To qualify for a CODI alert, the child must be 17 years of age or younger or be enrolled in a secondary school in Virginia, their location must be unknown, and their disappearance must be either suspicious or pose a credible threat to their health and safety.

CODI alerts may be requested by local law enforcement but will be activated by Virginia State Police.

A CODI alert is different from an AMBER alert in that CODI alerts apply to all missing children while AMBER alerts require law enforcement to reasonably suspect the child has been abducted.

Since their activation two weeks ago, three children have received CODI alerts. All three children have been found safe.

“I didn’t expect it to start working that quickly, or to be implemented that quickly,” Delegate A.C. Cordoza told WTKR reporters. “I’m so happy and thankful to the Virginia State Police for focusing on this and getting this out.”

Cordoza was one of the authors of the CODI Alert legislation.

Virginia issued 6 AMBER alerts in 2023 along with 42 Senior Alerts, 30 Critically Missing Adult Alerts, and 3 Missing Person with Autism Alert. Law enforcement is required to confer with the Virginia Missing Persons Clearing House prior to the activation of an alert.