On Thursday, August 27th, the Washington State
Patrol and Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT) activated the
Silver Alert message system.
Silver Alerts are for endangered missing people who are 60
years old or older. Often older people with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease can
get lost. Time is an important factor in finding dementia or Alzheimer’s
patients. According to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office an estimated 59%
of Alzheimer’s patients will wander away and become lost. If an elderly
Alzheimer’s patient is outside for more than 24 hours, their chance of survival
drops down to 50% due to the risk of exposure.
Silver Alerts operate in a similar way as AMBER Alerts. DOT
will display information on its electronic highway signs when there is vehicle
information included from the State Patrol. DOT may also broadcast this information
on its highway advisory radio messages and its 511 system. One difference
between Silver Alerts and AMBER Alerts is that Silver Alerts will not send
messages to cell phone alarms. If you see this message, please look out for the
vehicle and if you see it call 911 when it is safe for you to make the call.
Washington also has an Endangered Missing Person alerts for
people younger than 60 who could be in danger due to age, health, mental or
physical disability.
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office sponsors Project Care
Track which is a proactive program to find people with Down Syndrome, Autism,
Prader-Willi, dementia, Alzheimers or traumatic brain injury.
Project Care Track clients are provided an electronic
bracelet that emits a unique radio signal around the clock. If a client wanders
away, the caregiver calls 911. This call triggers a rapid response from a
trained team from the Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue unit. The
unit has a receiver that can detect the radio signal from the bracelet. Using
Project Care Track bracelets has reduced the time to find lost patients
dramatically.
If you have a loved one who you think would benefit from
Project Care Track, Contact the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office at (425)
388-3525.
Washington State Department of Transportation:
The Herald:
Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office:
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