Senator Coons, colleagues introduce Silver Alert bill to help locate missing seniors

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, introduced legislation today to help law enforcement locate missing adults and senior citizens with dementia. The National Silver Alert Act would create a nationwide network for missing seniors modeled after the successful AMBER Alert system for abducted children. The bill would provide federal coordination and assistance to local and state law enforcement agencies, similar to the Gold Alert system currently in place in Delaware. 

“Every day, the families of those suffering with dementia live with the fear that their loved one will go out and forget the way home,” said Senator Coons. “Lost seniors and adults with medical conditions are especially susceptible to illness, injury, or death if they are not found within 24 hours. Since 2008, Delaware’s Gold Alert program has coordinated state and local efforts to quickly locate missing seniors and persons with disabilities. This bill will ensure law enforcement officials across the nation have the resources they need to bring lost loved ones home safely.”

Each year, vulnerable adults go missing who are prone to wandering due to a physical or cognitive disability or medical condition such as Alzheimer's. As many as five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease and related dementia, and about 60 percent of those will wander away from their homes or health care facilities. According to the Alzheimer's Association, up to 50 percent of wanderers not recovered within 24 hours die or suffer serious health consequences before they are found.

Using the successful AMBER Alert system as a model, the National Silver Alert Act supports the creation of a national system to rapidly mobilize law enforcement and news media to locate seniors and adults who have gone missing. The legislation authorizes $500,000 for the Department of Justice to coordinate the Silver Alert network. 

The bill is led by Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and is also supported by Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). 

The National Silver Alert Act is endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, Elder Justice Coalition, National Association of Police Organizations, and the National Sheriffs’ Association.