'Silver Alert' system proposed

Oklahoma lawmakers consider a new Amber Alert style system. Senior advocates are pushing for a new warning system that would help find wandering Alzheimerâ€™s patients. <br/><br/>News on 6 anchor Craig

Friday, April 14th 2006, 10:08 am

By: News On 6

Oklahoma lawmakers consider a new Amber Alert style system. Senior advocates are pushing for a new warning system that would help find wandering Alzheimerâ€™s patients.

News on 6 anchor Craig Day says A.B. and Gwen Steen know a lot about the worry associated with Alzheimer's disease. "Both my mother and Gwen's mother suffered from Alzheimerâ€™s."

One of their big concerns was always that their mothers would wander off. A.B. Steen says a new state House resolution may help other families who are now dealing with Alzheimer's.

H.R. 1075 urges authorities to implement the "Silver Alert," an early warning system to help law enforcement to finding people who've wandered off. â€œYou'd have more people looking and certainly could spread the information quickly if it was a formal program." The first few hours are critical in finding missing Alzheimerâ€™s patients.

The resolution calls on the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety to team up with law enforcement agencies and the media to implement a Silver Alert program. A House resolution doesn't have the force of law, but it does request action by state officials and departments.

It's unclear how much further the idea will be taken. A.B. Steen hopes something becomes of the idea. He says adding a new Alzheimer's alert system to other safety measures already in place will mean less worry for many Oklahoma families.

Some fear if there are too many Amber Alert-style messages, viewers may not pay much attention to them anymore.