The Missing Persons Alert System bill gets voted through

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - As increasing reports of missing Indigenous women splash across news headlines, the Wyoming Legislature is doing something about it with a new bill.

The Senate looked at the Missing Person’s Alert System bill on Monday.

After extensive research on missing and murdered Indigenous people, Legislators realized Wyoming has fallen behind in legal protections for the Native American community, especially women and girls.

This new bill looks to codify in statutes an Amber-Alert type system that extends to every age.

This bill would also cover people with Alzheimer’s and Dementia when they wander or go missing.

The bill has passed out of the House and Senate and now heads toward the Governor’s desk.

“I was really encouraged in the State of the State, that this was identified as one of his priorities. So hopefully this is a win for the legislature, a win for the Governor, a win for our tribes. Really at the end of the day, a win for everyone in Wyoming,” said Sen. Affie Ellis, S.D. 8.

Any bills signed into law will go into effect in July of 2023.

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