A Wisconsin bill would expand the state’s missing persons alert system to include children who do not meet Amber Alert criteria.
The bill, which has bipartisan support, would expand the Silver Alert criteria to include missing persons under the age of 18. Those notifications would target situations where an Amber Alert does not apply, if the person is “believed to be incapable of returning home without assistance due to a physical or mental condition or disability or if the person is under 10,” according to an analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
State Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, is the co-author of the bill, which was introduced this week.
The motivation behind it was the death of 5-year-old Prince McCree, whose body was found in a Milwaukee dumpster last year after the child was reported missing. Milwaukee Police asked the state to issue an Amber Alert in that case, but their request was denied. Two people who lived in the boy’s home were later charged with his beating death.