You may know about Silver and Amber alerts for missing older adults and children. Now, Maryland lawmakers are considering establishing a Purple Alert that could help missing people with special needs.
A D.C.-area father whose nonverbal son was missing for six harrowing days is set to testify Tuesday to Maryland lawmakers who are considering a bill creating a Purple Alert.
The Purple Alert bill directs state police to create a “system for rapid dissemination of information to assist in locating a missing person,” including by training law enforcement agencies throughout the state and setting up systems to share crucial details.
“We have a number of alerts in our system including for seniors and for abducted children,” said state Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher, D-Montgomery County. “This just makes sense so that everyone can hear if there is someone missing who has a disability.”
The Purple Alert would cover people who have a cognitive impairment, intellectual or developmental disability or brain injury.
“This bill create that alert, which is very much needed for a population that cannot really fend for themselves,” state Sen. Arthur Ellis, D-Charles County, said.
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Why a Maryland father is set to testify in support of Purple Alert bill
Jimmy Hall testified in support of the Purple Alert bill in Annapolis, hoping to help other families that need help bringing their loved ones back to safety.
Hall's son Rashawn Williams, who has Down syndrome, went missing back in October.
Because Williams is an adult, he did not qualify for an Amber Alert after he walked out of his group residence and onto a bus.
There was a significant delay in Williams being reported as a critical missing person. Then, days went by before he was found.
“If the alert was in place, someone would have saw him and the public would have done what the police department and Metro couldn’t have done,” Hall said.
At the time, Hall expressed frustration that Metro hadn’t released surveillance footage they were hoping to see.
"It's like my son isn't important. Imagine he was a senator's son… or government. They'd have a helicopter. They'd have found him that night," Hall said. "I know he got on the bus. But we don't know where he got off, because we don't have any footage to see."
After nearly a week, Williams was found at the Glenmont Metro station. Surveillance video shows him wandering around and trying to get through fare gates.
Rashawn hungry and dehydrated but happy to see his family.
Hall said he feels good about pushing for change for the next family that loses someone like Rashawn, who cannot ask for help. “The Purple Alert could be their voice, to speak for them, which Rashawn didn’t have,” Hall said.
