Health & Fitness
Endangered Persons Advisory is active in South Carolina, but Nobody Knew- until now!
Anyone who has a loved one who suffers from dementia will find this invaluable. I have to wonder why it has not been publicized by every member of the General Assembly who helped pass it.
Representative Rita Allison, SC House of Representatives, House District 36 in Spartanburg County, let us know about this very important legislation. Anyone who has a loved one who suffers from dementia will find this invaluable. I have to wonder why it has not been publicized by every member of the General Assembly who helped pass it.
Several years ago, South Carolina adopted the Amber Alert program for abducted children, and since that time the Amber Alert has been activated more than forty times. More recently, the general assembly passed the Blue Alert to be used when a law enforcement officer is abducted or assaulted and their offender has yet to be captured.
Both of these alerts have received, appropriately, a great deal of public attention and notice. However, there is a third alert. The Endangered Persons Advisory. Introduced in 2009 and passed by the general assembly in 2010, the Endangered Persons Advisory received little to no public attention. I want to correct that oversight right now.
Like me, I’m sure you know someone who is elderly that suffers from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Perhaps it’s even a family member. As these conditions worsen their effects are devastating to those suffering from them, and also to their loved ones and care givers.
We have all heard stories of individuals afflicted with these conditions often wondering off, even driving off, and becoming hopelessly lost; often ending in tragedy because authorities simply don’t have sufficient personnel to adequately search for these unfortunate souls. The Endangered Person Advisory is designed to supplement law enforcement’s eyes when searching for one of these individuals. The way the Advisory works is this: The Advisory is essentially housed at the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) within their Missing Person Information Center. If the Center receives a report that involves a missing person who is believed to be suffering from dementia or some other cognitive impairment (regardless of age), the Center will distribute all appropriate information to local radio and television stations for local broadcast. If the person reported missing is believed to be driving a vehicle, then the Center would also send the information to the Department of Transportation which would display the information on their digital highway signs. All you do is make the call to your local law enforcement agency with the full information about your loved one.