WDBJ7 Roanoke News and Weather NRV Lynchburg Danville | State lawmakers pass Senior Alert bill
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We've seen the Amber Alert system help locate abducted children, now Virginia could soon start a Senior Alert.
By 2020 there will be nearly 1.5 million people 65 or older living in Virginia. To help those with dementia or other memory illnesses, the House and Senate have passed bills creating a Senior Alert.
Designed by State Police, it will help mobilize law enforcement officers within two hours once a senior citizen is reported missing.
"When an older person wanders off and they become disoriented, you know we can't wait until we check New Jersey and everywhere in the country to see if they might have gone off somewhere," said Delegate Allen Dudley of Rocky Mount.
"No matter how good caretaker or the family member is, you can't watch somebody 24 hours a day and these kinds of events can happen and this will trigger an immediate response," said Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell.
The Senior Alert program would not be imposed on localities automatically. They would have the option to chose whether or not to participate.
