Silver Alert

Silver Alert - New System in Texas for Locating Missing Seniors

Most people are now aware at how effective the Amber Alert system has become in the efficient recovery of missing children.  With the aging of so many Americans and a correlative increase in age-related mental impairment cases, such as Alzheimer’s, the need for a similar statewide and national alert system to quickly locate missing seniors has surfaced. 

The Texas House and Senate voted on April 30th, 2007, to expand the Amber Alert system to begin to include its senior citizens.  Named the “Silver Alert” system, this program would inform the public when mentally-impaired seniors, such as those with Alzheimer’s, go missing.  According to Jana Humphrey, executive director of the Alzheimer’s Alliance, approximately 900 senior citizens in the state of Texas are reported missing each year.  And that is just in Texas. 

Humphrey also states that, “Wandering with Alzheimer’s can happen at any point, but those who have Alzheimer’s are 60 percent more at risk for wandering, and chances of survival are 50% if they’re not found within 24 hours.”  Alzheimer’s Association has a national identification program titled “Safe Return” that provides assistance to those seniors with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia who might wander and become lost. 

Getting lost can happen to anyone, not just those with Alzheimer’s.  Oftentimes our mental acuity will experience some degree of decline with advancing years.  With the world’s landscape changing almost daily, it’s easy to see how easy it might be to become slightly disoriented. 

Many of us have experienced the frustration and even slight panic at our inability to remember where we parked our car at a shopping mall or ballgame.  Frustrating, true, but most likely harmless.  Now imagine an aging population of “active adults” out on a cross-country ski or leisurely afternoon hike in the woods who might then find themselves similarly confused and without reference.  Systems such as SafeReturn and the Texas-proposed Silver Alert system could be an invaluable aid in the safe return of these individuals.