During Gov. Katie Hobbs’ ceremonial signing of “Emily’s Law” on Wednesday, an Arizona Department of Public Safety official confirmed the new Turquoise Alert will not cover runaways. That excludes children like the law’s own namesake, Emily Pike, a San Carlos Apache 14-year-old who was labeled a runaway before she was found brutally murdered in February.
The confirmation comes as Emily’s family and Indigenous leaders raise concerns about the label runaway, arguing searches for all children should be urgent. San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler called for eliminating use of the label altogether.
“We need to change the term runaway to just strictly missing,” he said at Wednesday’s signing. “That heightens the security. That heightens the response of everybody. It makes it more important.”…