http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headli...ro/5751587.html


"AUSTIN — The state's new Amber Alert-style system for finding lost elderly people has been highly effective so far, helping to locate all 30 seniors who've been reported.

Since "Silver Alert" went into effect seven months ago, the missing people were located in time to save their lives all but three times, according to state statistics reported in Saturday's Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The system is modeled after the Amber Alert, named after Arlington's Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old who was abducted and killed in 1996. The system notifies the public when a child is reported missing.

The "Silver Alert" is designed to inform the public when older people with mental impairments such as Alzheimer's disease are lost and may be in danger.

Last week the system helped track down 80-year-old Lawrence White, of Bedford, who went for a drive then was lost for nine hours. A Fort Worth police officer saw White walking out of a store looking confused, then ran his license plate to learn he had been missing.

"Oh, our family is so thankful for that system and everyone who helped to find him," said White's wife, Bobbie.

To activate a Silver Alert, law enforcement must contact the Governor's Division of Emergency Management. Once confirmed, the Texas Department of Public Safety alerts local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, the news media and various state agencies.

The program was approved in the 2007 legislative session, a bill pushed because about 900 seniors were reported missing each year.

The number of alerts has outpaced the better-known Amber Alert system, which responded to just 38 alerts in its six years. And the number of Silver Alerts is expected to increase as the state's population ages. "

This system should have been in place a long time ago. The old ones get mixed up or lost. Thisis a good way to help them.

yes , i think it's great ,too