LANSING — The Michigan House considered a bill Thursday to create a Silver Alert system for missing seniors, an initiative that supporters say could help save lives.
The Silver Alerts would work like Amber Alerts, but for seniors or cognitively impaired adults.
“The same system and infrastructure and and folks that we use for extreme weather alerts — no extra cost, no extra hiring of new people to run it,” said bill sponsor Rep. Gina Johnsen, (R) District 78, Portland.
Michigan does currently have a Vulnerable Adult Medical Alert — but that only provides information to other police agencies and local news outlets.
“Wwe want to be able to get them help as fast as possible. And that’s all — it’s that simple,” Johnsen said.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than half of people living with dementia will wander at some point, potentially risking their safety.
Support for the legislation has been boosted by the family and friends of David Moffett, a then-70-year-old man who went missing from Emmet County in late 2023.
“I probably just assumed we had a system like the Silver Alert, before realizing firsthand, with my elderly dad,” said Nathan Moffett, son of David.
Nathan Moffett says the crucial hours and days after his dad’s disappearance could have gone differently if a Silver Alert system had been in place.
“I think that, yes — it at very least wouldn’t have hurt, of course, and at best, maybe my dad would be working with me today,” he said. “I think it would be instrumental in recovery of lost elderly people.”
Denneen Smith, executive director of the Friendship Centers of Emmet County, also says the search for David may have gone differently with a silver alert.
“Other people had seen him walking down the road — they didn’t know he was missing, and he didn’t know he was missing,” she said. “Had a silver alert gone out right away, then — that possibly could have been avoided.”
The proposal — HB 4362 — was supposed to be voted on Thursday, but the House delayed that vote for reasons that were unclear.
Nathan Moffett says that the policy making it into law would give some solace to his family.
“To spare other families from the loss and the grief that would be — that’d be a great silver lining. Silver alert, silver lining — there you go,” he said.
