There are Amber Alerts to find missing children and Silver Alerts for seniors.
In Wisconsin, the Corey Adams Searchlight Act was enacted after Corey Adams a Milwaukee Air Force Veteran passed way in 2017 after he was missing for 18 days.
A missing person alert was not issued for Corey Adams because he did not meet certain “missing person criteria.”
Illinois now wants to follow suit with a bill sponsored by State Representative Dan Swanson of Alpha.
“With 20 to 22 veterans committing suicide a day, this adds veterans and active-duty service members to the Silver Alert bill.” said Swanson. “Similar to the Amber Alert [where] we look for children immediately when reported missing, this bill would have us do that also for veterans or active-duty military members if a family member reports them missing.”
The measure was approved in the House Veterans Affairs Committee and now heads to the full House for consideration.
The legislation amends the Missing Persons Identification Act to add veterans suffering a physical or mental health condition related to their service.
That veteran would be considered a “high-risk missing person” for the purposes of an immediate search.
This comes on the heels of several measures Swanson, a retired Lieutenant Colonel for the Illinois National Guard, has passed for veterans.
Among the measures is House Bill 4848, which passed in April, that allows homeless veterans one free complete copy of their patient records for federal Veterans’ disability benefits.
