Link to case that led to Amber Alerts?

Terapon Adhahn is being investigated in the 1996 abduction-slaying of Amber Hagerman, the Texas case that spurred the nation's Amber Alert system for missing children.

Arlington, Texas, police spokeswoman Christy Gilfour said Thursday that her department has been contacted by Pierce County officials and asked to help determine whether Adhahn was living in the area when the 9-year-old disappeared. Gilfour warned that the inquiry is preliminary and not unusual. "Any time someone is suspected of a similar crime, we are notified and look at it," she said. "We need to keep this in perspective."

Amber disappeared Jan. 13, 1996. Her body was found four days later.

Adhahn's mother and brother live in nearby Forth Worth, but it is not known whether Adhahn was in the area when Amber vanished. Court documents indicate Adhahn attended a sex-offenders group meeting in Tacoma on Jan. 9, 1996, four days before Amber disappeared. He also attended a group meeting in Tacoma on Jan. 16, a day before her body was found.

Adhahn has been charged with the 2000 abduction and rape of a Tacoma girl who said the attacker drove a black pickup. Amber was reportedly abducted by a man who drove a black pickup.

Outrage over Amber's abduction-slaying spurred Congress to implement a nationwide alert system, named in her memory, to help find abducted children.

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com