What Code Adam means at Walmart - and what you should do if one takes place

If you're in a store like Walmart and you hear of a Code Adam, it's important that you know what to do and what not to do.

Walmart, like several other stores, have code systems to let staff and customers know what is going on, and what the severity of the incident might be.

Originally developed by Wal-Mart associates, Code Adam is activated when a child is first reported missing within a facility and prior to the arrival of law enforcement personnel.

If a staff member is alerted of a missing child, an employee goes to the nearest in-house telephone and pages Code Adam, describing the child's physical features and clothing.

All staff members except cashiers are then urged to look for the missing child in likely areas, and police are called to assist the process.

The Code Adam will be called off in and when the child is found safely.

The name was picked in the memory of Adam Walsh who, at the age of six, was abducted from a department store 25 years ago.

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