COLUMBIA, S.C. - A committee of law enforcement officials that review the Amber Alert system say it worked well in two recent child abductions.

But authorities also agreed Monday to tweak who is allowed to authorize the alert after Anderson County Sheriff Gene Taylor complained it took too long to issue the advisory when a 7-year-old boy was taken from an Anderson Kmart last week.

Before, the State Law Enforcement Division required an officer to go through training before being authorized to ask for an Amber Alert. Now, any officer designated by supervisors can ask for the alert.

An Amber Alert is issued by SLED for a child 16 years or younger and thought to be in immediate danger. The system also applies to any aged person who is physically or mentally disabled and thought to be in danger.

The committee was reviewing the alerts issued for 7-year-old Hunter Thompson, who police say was taken by a stranger from the Anderson Kmart and returned safely, as well as 12-year-old Larry Anthony Fountain II, who Camden police feared was abducted two weeks ago but turned out to have run away from school after a minor problem.

The day Thompson was found safe, Taylor criticized the system, saying it took too long to issue the alert. By Monday, he had softened his stance.

"The synopsis was that everybody did everything right and there were not any unusual delays," Taylor said. "The proof of the pudding is that there's a person in jail and a child that's home."

Jeff Moore, executive director of the South Carolina Sheriff's Association and chairman of the state's Amber Alert Oversight Committee, said Taylor's department followed proper procedure.

"Every case is different," he said, "It takes time depending on the circumstances to work through the protocol."

In the Anderson case, SLED required officers to thoroughly search the Kmart and the boy's home to make sure he was kidnapped because no one witnessed the abduction.

Agencies are requested to "exhaust all possibilities" before calling for an Amber Alert. Moore said the committee is considering giving law enforcement agencies "clearer direction" on what that means.

The committee also ruled the Camden alert was justified because the disappearance met all the criteria for the alert, even though Fountain later told police he had run away because of a problem at school.