Missing Person Alerts in Texas and What They Mean

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Law enforcement agencies can send different types of statewide alerts when someone goes missing depending on what criteria they meet, and for Texas residents you may have noticed that these alerts have a specific name.

The most well-known alert is an AMBER alert issued for serious cases of child abduction. The AMBER alert was created in memory of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped and killed in Arlington in 2002.

There are a total of six different alarms to safely locate a missing person as quickly as possible. These are:

  • AMBER alert
  • Blue alert
  • Camo alert
  • DELETE Alert
  • Vulnerable missing person warning
  • Silver Alert

The criteria for an Amber Alert are that the child is 17 years of age or younger and is considered by law enforcement to be in imminent danger, the minor has been abducted by a person over the age of three, a legal guardian and an investigation confirms that a kidnapping has occurred and there is enough information that can be made available to the public to locate the child.

Blue Alert was established in 2008 to help apprehend suspected violent criminals who pose a threat to the public or who have seriously injured a law enforcement officer.

Criteria for this alert include when a police officer has been killed or seriously injured by a suspect, an investigation determines whether the suspect poses a threat to the public, a detailed description of the suspect’s vehicle, license plate number or individual, and a law enforcement agency requests that the warning be issued.

The Camo Alert was created in 2019 for a missing person who is a current or former military with a documented mental illness.

This alert is issued when the missing person is registered with the Camo Alert program, is confirmed to be a current or former United States military member, is confirmed to have a mental illness, and the disappearance poses a credible threat to represents herself or the safety of others.

The CLEAR Alert was also established in 2019 to bridge the gap between missing minors and seniors. This alarm was named to honor victims of violence: Cayley Mandadi; D’Lisa Kelley; Erin Castro; Ashanti Billie and the rest.

The criteria for this alert include that the missing person is between the ages of 18 and 64, the investigation confirms that the adult is in imminent danger or the disappearance is involuntary, and that there is sufficient information to help the public locate the individual .

A Vulnerable Missing Persons Alert is a missing person of any age with an intellectual disability and was established in 2011.

The criteria for this alert are that the individual has been diagnosed with an intellectual disability, law enforcement has a written diagnosis, the disappearance poses a credible threat to the health and safety of the individual, the request was made within 72 hours of their disappearance, and There is enough information that can be made available to the public to locate the individual.

The latest alert is the Silver Alert, introduced in 2007 to locate adults over the age of 65 who have been diagnosed with a mental illness.

Criteria for this alert include that the person is 65 years of age or older, has been diagnosed with mental impairment, has documentation of their mental condition, has had an investigation confirming the disappearance was related to their mental condition, the request Pit was arrested within 72 hours of her disappearance and there is enough information to locate the person.

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