NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that Washington state's elderly population is growing and the number of individuals with dementia is increasing. The legislature further finds that approximately sixty percent of individuals with dementia will wander at least once and, that if not found within twenty-four hours, up to half of wandering seniors with dementia will suffer serious injury or death. The legislature further finds that the state of Washington has a compelling interest in protecting the safety of vulnerable citizens with cognitive impairments. The legislature further finds that creating a public notification system to broadcast information about missing persons with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or other mental disabilities to aid in their safe return will help prevent unnecessary suffering and death.

(1) The Washington state patrol shall establish a missing children and endangered person clearinghouse which shall include the maintenance and operation of a toll-free telephone hotline. The clearinghouse shall distribute information to local law enforcement agencies, school districts, the department of social and health services, and the general public regarding missing children and endangered persons. The information shall include pictures, bulletins, training sessions, reports, and biographical materials that will assist in local law enforcement efforts to locate missing children and endangered persons. The state patrol shall also maintain a regularly updated computerized link with national and other statewide missing person systems or clearinghouses, and within existing resources, shall develop and implement a plan, commonly known as an "amber alert plan" or an "endangered missing person advisory plan((,))" which includes a "silver alert" designation for voluntary cooperation between local, state, tribal, and other law enforcement agencies, state government agencies, radio and television stations, cable and satellite systems, and social media pages and sites to enhance the public's ability to assist in recovering abducted children and missing endangered persons consistent with the state endangered missing person advisory plan.

(b) "Missing endangered person" means a person ((with a developmental disability as defined in RCW 71A.10.020(4) or a vulnerable adult as defined in RCW 74.34.020(17),)) who is believed to be in danger because of age, health, mental or physical disability, in combination with environmental or weather conditions, or is believed to be unable to return to safety without assistance and who is:

(c) "Silver alert" means the designated title of a missing endangered person advisory that will be used on a variable message sign and text of the highway advisory radio message when used as part of an activated advisory to assist in the recovery of a missing endangered person age sixty or older.


State of Washington	64th Legislature	2015 Regular Session