SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. -- A little girl lost by a loving Bay Area family has focused attention on the difficulty of recovering kidnapped children when they've been taken across the Mexican border.

But thanks to another little girl -- one named Amber -- the search for kidnapped children will soon go international.

Christmas Day 2006 brought a priceless present to a South Bay mother named Kate: a baby girl. The foster child named Jade stayed with the family for almost two years.

"We had her from 9 months old until she was kidnapped -- at over 2 1/2 [years old]," said Kate.

Kate and her husband Niranjan asked KTVU not to reveal their last name or where they live for fear of retaliation from Jade's biological family.

The couple has long been committed to fostering children. They adopted a little boy Nicholas, then a little girl Gracie, and were in the process of adopting Gracie's sister Jade.

But they said when Jade's biological father -- Heiby Flores -- took her for a court authorized visit a year ago, she never returned.

"We found out when we went to pick her up that Sunday and he didn't show up," said Niranjan.

Kate vividly remembered the moment: "Immediately I said 'She's kidnapped. I know she's gone.'"

For the past year, Kate has been handing out fliers. She put a poster with pictures of Jade and Flores on her car. She even hired a private investigator.

"I hand them a flier every place I go, because I'm sure someone's going to see him," explained Kate.

The family has offered a $10,000 reward to find the little girl who now would be three years old. Their belief is that Flores took Jade from San Jose to Mexico, where Flores is from.

According to the U.S Department of State, one third of the international child abductions last year occurred between the U.S and Mexico. A total of 316 such kidnappings took place. But there is a new effort underway to catch kidnappers after they cross the border.

"I can tell you there's probably not a county in California that is not in one way or another affected by this," said Jim Walters, a U.S. Justice Department employee who works as liaison for training and technical assistance for the Amber Alert program.

Walters said later this summer authorities will start a process to extend the Amber Alert system to Mexico. They plan to begin by training law enforcement from both countries side by side in San Diego next month.

"So when you issue an Amber Alert in Texas or California, then the neighboring jurisdictions in Mexico have the ability to issue that same Amber Alert and help search for that abducted child," explained Walters.

When an Amber Alert is issued, all 50 U.S. states broadcast information about the kidnapper’s vehicle and the victim using highway signs and the airwaves. According to government data, Amber Alerts have helped save the lives of almost 400 children since 2002.

Walters said Mexico is about five years behind the U.S.

"Once we pass through all the logistical problems and get the system in place, we're confident it's going to work," said Walters.

Julianne Sylva works in the child abduction unit of the Santa Clara District Attorney's office and has a drawer packed with files of active child abduction cases. She said getting an abducted child back from Mexico takes time.

"My job is to locate and recover kids who have been abducted by parents or family members, said Sylva. "It is several months. but it used to be several years. Things are improving."

Sylva said extending Amber Alerts to Mexico could improve the recovery time from months to days -- or, in a best case scenario -- mere hours.

"It puts more feet on the street, for lack of a better word, to bring kids home," explained Sylva.

Pedro Espinosa, the head of legal affairs at the Mexican consulate in San Jose, said the new effort could help by limiting the complications that often come with an international kidnapping.

"Because maybe if they cross the border, you have these dual laws and you face difference of laws and jurisdiction," said Espinosa.

The little dresses and outfits Kate bought for her foster daughter remain unworn. She cried as she watched home video of little Jade at the beach and playing in their backyard, lamenting the girl she hoped to formally make a member of the family.

Kate and her husband support the idea of an extended Amber Alert, but they can't bring themselves to consider fostering another child.

"I feel like if we took another one, would that mean we were trying to replace Jade? I just want her home," said Kate.