SAFE Alert

Seek and Find Alert

The State of Arizona has created the SAFE Alert. According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety:

  • The SAFE Alert renames the Silver Alert to the Seek and Find Alert, which expands the alert to include missing persons with cognitive disabilities, prohibits the denial or delay of an alert and requires law enforcement agencies to develop and conduct training on the Seek and Find Alert Notification biannually.

  • The SAFE Alert program aims to establish a notification system that provides immediate information to the public through issuing and coordinating alerts using various resources following a subject "gone missing" when specific criteria have been met.

  • The goal of the SAFE Alert is to locate the missing person when the SAFE Alert criteria are met through efficient information dissemination and communication that results in safe and expedient recovery.

SAFE Alerts will be issued if the missing individual meets program criteria. Your local law enforcement agency must make the request for a SAFE Alert after using all available local resources.

Thank you to the Arizona Department of Public Safety for supporting and collaborating with the autism community!

Learn more

Why do we need a SAFE Alert? Elopement, or wandering, is common with autistic individuals. According to the Kennedy Krieger Institute, 49% of children with autism attempted to elope at least once after age 4 and nearly half of children with autism wander from safe places. Individuals diagnosed with autism are also more likely to be victim to trafficking and may not recognize vulnerable or unsafe situations. Perhaps there has been a change of medication that has caused new behaviors. Or a situation has occurred that the individual doesn’t know how to handle so they go into “flight or fight” mode. Untreated mental health conditions can also increase the risk of elopement. The quicker we act, the greater chance of safely locating the missing individual.

Call 911 immediately - Don’t wait!

  • If your loved one goes missing, even if you think they just might be hiding, call 911 right away. The 911 operator would much rather have you say your child was hiding under the bed rather than loose valuable time searching for your child in the community.

If your loved one is missing…