A B.C. resident is advocating for the implementation of a Silver Alert system for missing seniors with cognitive impairments, twelve years after his father disappeared. Sam Noh, whose father went missing in Coquitlam in 2013, believes a Silver Alert like the Amber Alert system could have made a difference in his father’s case. This proposed system would send phone alerts to the public when a vulnerable senior with cognitive issues goes missing.
With British Columbia’s aging population and the critical need for timely responses in missing senior cases, several advocates and family members of missing seniors support the call for a Silver Alert system in the province. Noh highlights the time delay between police releasing information about missing seniors on social media and public awareness, emphasizing the urgency for the government to establish a more efficient alert system.
Despite a failed attempt to introduce a Silver Alert system through a private member’s bill in 2014, there has been little progress on the issue. The mandate letter for B.C.’s public safety minister in 2020 included developing a Silver Alert system, but Noh expresses disappointment in the lack of action taken since then.
A spokesperson for the B.C. Public Safety Ministry acknowledges the potential benefits of expanding the Amber Alert system to include missing adults with cognitive impairments. They mention that the RCMP is assessing the feasibility of Silver Alerts following a recent pilot program in Quebec.
In response to the initiative, a petition led by a woman whose father went missing and is now presumed dead has gathered over 4,900 signatures, urging the federal government to implement a Silver Alert system. The petition highlights the urgency of finding missing seniors with cognitive impairments to prevent potential harm or fatalities.
Advocates suggest that Silver Alerts can be customized to target specific geographic areas, unlike the broader reach of Amber Alerts. They emphasize the importance of timely notifications to residents in the vicinity where a senior went missing, providing guidance on how they can help locate the individual without engaging in search activities.
Noh and other advocates have been actively working on prototypes of the Silver Alert system since 2014. They are now advocating for municipalities and local governments to consider implementing localized alert systems to assist in finding missing seniors efficiently and effectively.
