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MONTGOMERY — Governor Kay Ivey has signed into law an expanded version of Alabama’s  Missing and Endangered Persons Alert, now to include an adult that has been abducted, effective  Friday, Sept. 1.  

Previously, the criteria for a Missing and Endangered Person Alert stated that a person must be  missing and living with a mental or physical disability, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or autism  and is at risk of bodily harm or death. The newly expanded alert will include any adult, 18 and  older, who has been abducted and is believed to be in danger.  

Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) Secretary Hal Taylor said, “We are constantly  analyzing our processes and procedures to improve and better serve the citizens of Alabama. Our Fusion Center recognized a need to expand this alert criteria and we are extremely thankful for  the support of Governor Ivey and the Legislature, who continuously work with us to enhance the  tools and resources we have.”  

The State of Alabama has four Missing Person Alerts: the Amber Alert, Emergency Missing  Child Alert, Missing and Endangered Persons Alert and Blue Alert. With the exception of the  Amber Alert, all three alerts (Emergency Missing Child, Missing and Endangered Persons and  Blue) are in accordance with Alabama law and the various alerts criteria are set by statute. The  Amber Alert is a nationwide program in which most states, including Alabama, adhere to the  Department of Justice’s recommended guidelines and criteria for the alert.  

The Alabama Fusion Center (AFC), a unit within ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), is  responsible for issuing Amber Alerts, Emergency Missing Child Alerts, Blue Alerts and  Emergency Missing Persons Alerts throughout the state. The Alabama Center for Missing and  Exploited Children is organizationally structured within the AFC and serves as a liaison between  citizens, private organizations, and law enforcement officials regarding missing and exploited  children and adults. Only a law enforcement agency can make a request to activate the state alert  system and each alert program contains criteria that must be met. In any situation regarding a  missing child or adult, the first step is to notify law enforcement immediately. None of the alerts’  criteria require a person to have been missing for a certain amount of time.

AFC Director Jay Moseley said, “In 2022, ALEA launched a new high-speed notification system  known as CodeRED to issue alerts to citizens. Citizens can subscribe to receive notifications in  the case of missing persons or during emergency situations by texting “ALalerts” to 99411 or  enroll online at alea.gov. We would also like to thank all citizens and local partners throughout  Alabama who assist law enforcement by sharing our missing person alerts and those who remain  vigilant for these missing individuals.”