Truckers and others will be counted on in Virginia to help recover abducted children under a statewide "Amber Alert" program introduced last month, Gov. Mark Warner's office said in a recent statement.

Reports about abducted children will be immediately broadcast on radio and television and posted on highway message boards. Similar programs in other states have been responsible for the recovery of at least 19 children.

The Amber Alert is named for 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped and murdered in Arlington, TX, in 1996. The initiative expands on regional programs already operating in the Richmond, northern Virginia, Spotsylvania and Roanoke areas.

Local police activate the Amber Alert after determining that a child 17 or younger has been abducted and is in danger. Information about the child is sent to radio and television stations, which interrupt regular programming to report the abduction.

The Virginia Department of Transportation will also use electronic message signs along major highways to advise motorists to be on the lookout, and police will enter information about the missing youths into state and national databases.