Florida’s Silver Alert Missing Senior Program Celebrates 12 Years, And Numerous Success Stories

October 11, 2020

Last week marked the 12th anniversary of Florida’s Silver Alert program.  Since the program’s inception in 2008, about 2,400 Silver Alerts have been issued, and Florida’s Silver Alert program has been directly responsible for 248 recoveries of missing senior citizens.

Silver Alerts are activated statewide at the request of local law enforcement after a senior with Alzheimer’s or related dementia goes missing in a car. Once a Silver Alert is issued, information about the missing senior is communicated to the public through local media outlets, lottery terminals and highway message signs.

One of those Silver Alert success stories was four years ago this month when an 83-year old Beulah woman found near Century a week after she was reported missing.

She was located off Highway 29 on North Canoe Road, a non-maintained dirt road. Her car was stuck deep in the sand of the roadway, where she had apparently spent most of the week. She was located by two Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies who responded to a report of a suspicious person.

She had apparently been living out of her car, which had a dead battery. She had food…an uneaten loaf of cinnamon bread was on the passenger seat after her rescue. But her major problem was a lack of liquid. She was transported to an area hospital suffering from dehydration.

Pictured: A Silver Alert missing senior was found in her stuck car on North Canoe Road. Pictured inset and immediately below: There was food in the Hyundai Sonata. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

One Response to “Florida’s Silver Alert Missing Senior Program Celebrates 12 Years, And Numerous Success Stories”

  1. Jeff Gainey on October 11th, 2020 9:45 am

    Kudos to Oklahoma State Representative Fred Perry for enacting the first silver alert law. It then formed into what it is today by other States which helped save thousands of seniors across the USA. Great job Fred Perry!