HOUSTON — A Silver Alert was issued Monday for a 79-year-old man with dementia who was last seen Sunday in southeast Houston.
The man was found a short time after the alert went out.
Silver Alerts are issued by authorities to notify the public about missing older adults with a documented mental condition. Here are the criteria for authorities to issue one:
- Is the missing person 65 years of age or older or been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease?
- Does the senior citizen have a diagnosed impaired mental condition, and does the senior citizen's disappearance pose a credible threat to the senior citizen's health and safety? (Law enforcement shall require the family or legal guardian of the missing senior citizen to provide documentation from a medical or mental health professional of the senior citizen's condition)
- Is it confirmed that an investigation has taken place verifying that the senior citizen's disappearance is due to his/her impaired mental condition, and alternative reasons for the senior citizen's disappearance have been ruled out?
- Is the Silver Alert request within 72 hours of the senior citizen's disappearance?
- Is there sufficient information available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the senior citizen? (Highway signs will be activated only if accurate vehicle information is available AND it is confirmed that the senior citizen was driving the vehicle at the time of the disappearance.
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Thousands of people go missing every year across the United States, and there are organizations and law enforcement agencies that work to bring them home to loved ones.
The Texas Center for the Missing is an organization with Houston roots that works to educate loved ones and authorities on finding the lost.
From resources that deal with missing children to endangered adults, the non-profit organization has compiled a wealth of resources to help.
There is no 24-hour waiting period required to report a person missing, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.