Purple Alert added to state's system for missing persons with special needs. How it works
BAY COUNTY — Pull out the color wheel. There's a new alert in town and it's purple.
A law that went into effect July 1 requires police to issue a Purple Alert for a missing and endangered person who is over the age of 18.
Amber Alerts are broadcast to the public when a child is missing and in danger. A Silver Alert means someone suffering from Alzheimer's or some form of dementia is missing, and a Blue Alert is issued when police are looking for someone wanted for harming an officer.
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State law, Florida Statute 1937.0205, defining the Purple Alert provides a public be-on-the-lookout broadcast for the person whose disappearance means a "credible threat of immediate danger or serious bodily harm to himself or herself."
According to Lt. Andy Husar of the Bay County Sheriff's Office, the missing person who becomes the subject of a Purple Alert must not suffer from Alzheimer's or any other dementia-related disorder, characteristics that would qualify that person's disappearance for a Silver Alert.
The person who is the subject of a Purple Alert must have an intellectual or developmental disability or suffer from a brain injury and/or physical, mental or emotional disability that is not related to substance abuse, Husar said.
The bill that became law began with the death of Joshua Marshall, a 31-year-old Florida man who was non-verbal and attracted to water when he wandered from his father's home in 2018. His body was later found in a retention pond.
No alert was in place to help authorities locate him.
Bay County officials hope the Purple Alert will help them find adults who have special needs or disabilities here should they become lost.
"To have a system in place now that will help us get the word out into our community that someone with special abilities is lost, that we need help to get them safe and back home, is a 'win,'" said Ron Sharpe, executive director of The Arc of the Bay.
The nonprofit serves about 450 people with special needs in the counties of Bay, Washington, Holmes, Gulf, Calhoun, Franklin, Jackson and Liberty. The agency provides support for adults with disabilities with the aim of assisting them "to become as self-sufficient and independent as possible," according to the agency's website.
None of the agency's clients have gone missing recently, but Sharpe said he was pleased.
"We live in such a caring community this alert can only enhance any potential rescue so that it can happen much quicker," he said.
As of this week, no Purple Alerts have been issued in Bay County, authorities said.
But when they are, police are required to notify local media before contacting Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Husar said. The alerts also will be broadcast on lottery terminals in gas stations, convenience stores, supermarkets and the Florida Department of Transportation's highway messaging system.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Purple Alert designed to help find missing people with special needs
