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Silver Alerts' Frequency May Make System Less Effective

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By RICH SHOPES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 20, 2008

TAMPA - Nov. 12 was a busy day for the new Silver Alert system in Florida.

An 80-year-old man was reported missing in Boynton Beach about 11 a.m. A few hours later, another elderly driver disappeared in Orlando.

In what is becoming a common occurrence, electronic billboards on highways across the state flashed descriptions of their vehicles and license plate information, alerting motorists to look for their cars.

In fact, 19 times – nearly once every two days since the system began in October – alerts have been issued about missing elderly drivers. On Wednesday, an 82-year-old St. Petersburg man was the subject of an alert.

By contrast, nine Amber Alerts, the missing child notification system on which the Silver Alert was modeled, have been issued all year.

The unexpected number of Silver Alerts has drawn the attention of state transportation officials and backers of the system, who say they are concerned that drivers inundated by flashing alerts will ignore them.

"Every time I go out onto the highway, I'm amazed at how many messages I see," said Sallie Parks, a former Pinellas County commissioner who championed the Silver Alert idea in Florida.

Because of that, some changes may be made.

"We were aware that there were going to be more of these than Amber Alerts, but you don't know until you do it," said Mark Wilson, the state's top traffic engineer.

A dozen states have similar programs, but if the first six weeks are any indication, Florida's program will far outpace every other state in the frequency of alerts.

For instance, Texas has had 50 Silver Alerts involving elderly drivers since beginning in September 2007, roughly one every 10 days. If Florida's trend holds, the state will have issued about 150 Silver Alerts by October.

Not so surprising when you consider the state is home to about 500,000 people with Alzheimer's or dementia. In 2007 alone, about 1,800 of them left home and became lost, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Most wandered away on foot. Still, enough became lost while driving to justify calls for the Silver Alert program. But it took a tragedy in Pinellas County to bring the issue to light.

In February, 86-year-old Mary Zelter, diagnosed with dementia, left her adult-care facility in Largo for a trip to the supermarket. Six days later, her body was found a few miles from her home in the Intracoastal Waterway, a drowning victim.

Afterward, a group that included Zelter's daughter, Mary Lallucci, as well as former Commissioner Parks and Largo Police Chief Lester Aradi, began pushing to create a Silver Alert program for Pinellas. The FDLE decided to expand the program statewide, and on Oct. 8, Gov. Charlie Crist signed an executive order creating the Silver Alert system.

Anyone 60 or older with a mental impairment and missing in a vehicle can be the subject of an alert. After talking with relatives and neighbors and checking the neighborhood for the missing person, local police can decide whether to notify the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which activates the alert.

When a Silver Alert is declared, announcements are broadcast for up to six hours on electronic bulletin boards statewide. Information about a missing person in Miami immediately is broadcast on signs as far away as Jacksonville.

One change that might be considered is whether to limit the initial messages to the area where the missing person lives, then expand the messages across the state the longer the person is missing.
Another consideration is the minimum age. In Texas, drivers must be 65 or older for an alert to be issued.

Backers say the program is working.

During the 19 alerts in Florida, four drivers were found after motorists saw the highway signs and alerted law enforcement. In the others, law enforcement or relatives found the missing drivers.

The 82-year-old St. Petersburg man who became the subject of the state's 19th Silver Alert this week had driven off in his Chevrolet Suburban about 10 a.m. Wednesday. He was found by police at 3:30 a.m. today, sleeping in his vehicle at a carwash parking lot in Bradenton.

"We were plenty worried," said his wife, 78-year-old Virginia Mitchell. "He doesn't realize what he's done, with his dementia."

The FDLE plans to re-examine the program in a couple of months. Whatever changes are suggested, the program's supporters hope the electronic bulletin boards will still be used.

"We have a very significant issue here," Lallucci said. "We have seniors who are getting lost. And the potential issue is that the everyday citizen won't respond to the urgency of the messages, but if that's true, then what do we do?"

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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