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Some Fear Frequency May Dilute Silver Alerts

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By RICH SHOPES

rshopes@tampatrib.com

Published: November 24, 2008

TAMPA - It happened again last week.

An 82-year-old St. Petersburg man suffering from dementia drove away from his home about 10 a.m. Wednesday and never returned.

Nine hours later electronic billboards along the state's highways were flashing a description of his vehicle and license tag, alerting motorists to look for his car.

It's become a common occurrence since the state enacted its Silver Alert program six weeks ago.

In fact, 19 times - nearly once every two days since the system began - alerts have been issued about missing elderly drivers.

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 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 begin to 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 in order, said Mark Wilson, the state's top traffic engineer.

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

A Rapid Pace

A dozen states have similar programs, but if the first six weeks are any indication, Florida will far outpace them in the frequency of alerts.

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

Not so surprising when you consider the state is home to about 500,000 people with Alzheimer's or dementia, more than any other state. 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 Silver Alert.

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 FDLE, which activates the alert.

Once 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 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 to raise the minimum age. In Texas, drivers must be 65 or older - five years older than in Florida - before a Silver Alert can be triggered.

So Far, It Works

Backers acknowledge the number of alerts is a concern, but say the program is working.

During the 19 alerts, four drivers were found after motorists spotted the highway signs and called law enforcement. In the others, law enforcement or relatives found the missing drivers. Of the 19, nine were for drivers between 60 and 65 years old.

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. Thursday, 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. The program's supporters hope the electronic bulletin boards remain part of the notification system, but they understand there are no easy answers if the pace of alerts doesn't slow.

"We have a very significant issue here. We have seniors who are getting lost," Lallucci said. "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.

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