Cindy Von Quednow, Ventura County Star (Calif.)

A new California law calls for an alert system to notify police departments and the public about missing people who are 65 or older.

If a missing person meets the criteria for a “Silver Alert,” a law enforcement agency will tell the California Highway Patrol, which can send messages to other agencies, residents and the media.

“The whole idea is to get more eyes out there looking for the person,” said Officer Steve Reid, a Ventura-area spokesman for the patrol.

He said the program is modeled after Amber Alert, which has been in effect since 1996 and sends bulletins about child abductions.

For the patrol to activate a Silver Alert, a person must be:

– 65 or older.

– Missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances.

– And considered in danger because of age, health, disability, harsh weather conditions, accompaniment by a potentially dangerous person or other factors.

If someone contacts a law enforcement agency and the criteria are met, the patrol will be contacted and can send out messages via wireless text, TV and electronic photos, Reid said.

Because the law is so new, agencies including the Simi Valley Police Department are updating their policies and procedures.

“The Simi Valley Police Department is committed to leverage any available tool, technology or additional agency resource to assist the citizens it serves,” Sgt. Craig Dungan said in an email.

The department has a database of mentally disabled people in the city that contains basic identification information, a photograph, description of disabilities, usual habits and family contact information.

“This database has been extremely useful in the past when citizens have found lost elderly people walking in neighborhoods and ultimately call our agency for assistance,” Dungan said.

Simi Valley residents can call police if they want to be a part of this service.

Silver Alert hasn’t been used in Ventura County yet. The first use occurred this year, before an 82-year-old Elk Grove man missing for two days was found, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Bill Nash, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department, said the agency can help find a missing person by sending messages through its website, Facebook and Twitter pages.

“The nice thing about Ventura County is that all the public safety agencies are very cooperative with each other,” Nash said.

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