A WOMAN will face court in Newcastle on Thursday after allegedly abducting a child in the state's Riverina.
Police issued an amber alert on Wednesday after the 12-year-old boy was last seen leaving a school in Culcairn about noon on Tuesday.
They confirmed on Thursday morning that the child had been found in Lake Macquarie safe and well about 10pm on Wednesday evening.
Investigators arrested a 36-year-old woman. She was taken to Belmont police station and charged with take or detain person with intent to obtain advantage (domestic violence).
She was formally refused bail and is expected to face Newcastle Local Court on Thursday.
The arrest came hours before NSW Police announced they would bring in an SMS system for alerts in the case of missing persons cases.
Mobile devices in a defined area will receive an alert featuring a brief description and information on how to report a sighting. The technology will be used when police hold grave concerns for the missing person including dementia patients, children with disabilities and young people lost in crowds.
State Crime Command Director, Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett said the new geo-targeting tool would be "invaluable".
"We now have the capability to use this system when there is an operational need in NSW and therefore want the community to be aware these functions exist; in the event they receive an SMS in the future." Detective Chief Superintendent Bennett said.
"This system was put in place by states and territories following the 2009 Victorian Black Saturday bushfires to send out alerts within specific areas in the event of likely emergency situations, such as flood, bush fire or other extreme weather conditions."
