Wisconsin Launches ‘Silver Alert’ System For Finding Missing Senior Citizens

A statewide emergency alert system to aid in finding missing senior citizens went online Thursday.

Wisconsin is joining around 30 other states that have what are called Silver Alert systems, which send out notifications to local media, law enforcement and citizens when seniors with dementia go missing. The inspiration for the bill that led to Silver Alert came from an elderly couple from the northwestern Wisconsin town of Ashwaubenon, who got lost and drove for 24 hours trying to find a child’s home.

“I can tell you, I’ve been doing this for 15 years and every single year this comes up where someone drives off somewhere,” said Rob Gundermann, the policy director for the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s and Dementia Alliance. “It’s been one of the most frustrating things as an advocate to see this and not be able to do anything about it.”

It’s estimated there are more than 100,000 people in the state who have some form of dementia. Gundermann says six out of 10 of them are likely to wander.

Joe Libowsky is the coordinator for the Wisconsin Crime Alert Network at the Department of Justice, which will send out the Silver Alerts. He said that along with the traditional media and law enforcement notifications, they will be able to harness other electronic means statewide if the missing senior is driving.

“Depending on the circumstance, the alerts can also go out to digital billboards around the state,” Libowsky said. “Another tool we have is the state lottery terminals, and then another resource is the Department of Transportation digital messaging signs that you see along the freeway.”

The bill creating Silver Alert was signed into law by Gov. Scott Walker in April.