With the Amber Alert system already successful nationally, the Silver Alert system in Florida has also been declared a success. While the Amber Alert informs people about lost and missing children, the Silver Alert is designed to give immediate information to the public about the missing 60-year-old seniors, suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Since Alzheimer’s causes memory loss, confusion and disorientation, the sufferers can forget their phone number, address or, in extreme cases, even their name! In case somebody suffering from Alzheimer’s at an advanced stage wanders off, or gets separated from his/her loved ones, it becomes critical to trace them as early as possible and reunite them.

As and when a senior is reported missing, the Silver Alert circulates the information putting up signs on the highway, and making phone calls to the people in the area where the senior was last seen. The law enforcement agencies in the state are also alerted, and authorities contact local or regional news media concluding that disappearances pose a plausible threat to safety, and verify descriptions and tag numbers of vehicles.

Heather Smith of FDLE - the Florida Department of Law Enforcement – said: “Certainly our law enforcement agencies are using a standardized statewide plan. We know that our public is paying attention to those message signs and that’s what’s most important.”

Smith added that in case of a missing-person situation, time is of the utmost importance, and, as such, related information has to be disseminated at the earliest.