OLYMPIA, Wash – Washington state law enforcement agencies have a new tool when searching for missing senior citizens suffering from dementia, Alzheimer's, or other mental disabilities.
Silver Alerts will appear on highway reader boards just like Amber Alerts for children. The message specifically states it's a Silver Alert followed by the missing senior citizen's car description and license plate number.
Unlike Amber Alerts, Silver Alerts will not show up on TV screens and there will be no text messages or emails unless you sign up to receive Silver Alerts
"Time is critical. Time is not on our side in these cases at all. So the quicker we can get the information out to public and the media hopefully the case will come to some sort of resolution as quickly as possible," said Carri Gordon with Washington State Patrol Emergency Management.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed the Silver Alert bill last month. Forty other states are also using Silver Alert.
"Elderly dementia patients usually are at high risk because they're really not sure how to get back home. And that's a key factor in our endangered missing is whether or not the person can return to safety of their own ability," said Gordon.
The Silver Alert bill points out that nearly 60% of those who suffer from dementia will wander off at least once. If they're not found within 24 hours, up to half of the wandering seniors will suffer serious injury or death.
