More than a year ago, on Dec. 28, 2006, Addie Ree Chambers was found in a ramshackle barn off Wallace Springs Road wearing only a nightgown and a pair of socks in 26-degree weather.
The 80-year-old Alzheimer’s patient had wandered from her home just after 1 a.m. Thanks to an immediate search, Chambers was found quickly and still in good health.
Unfortunately, that is not always the case.
The Silver Alert is a program designed to help find cognitively impaired adults, which is not limited to seniors.
Similar to the Amber Alert for missing children, the Silver Alert sends out a massive notification if a legal custodian reports the impaired adult is missing.
Lois Hogan from the N.C. Center for Missing Persons said those with cognitive impairments tend to become disoriented and are therefore vulnerable to their surroundings and predators.
The Silver Alert provides caregivers statewide with an organized, useful system in the event something goes wrong.
In order to sign up for the alert, the missing person must be at least 18 with a cognitive impairment. The proper paperwork must be filed with law enforcement, who can then request the alert, and the Center for Missing Persons can activate it.
In the case of Addie Chambers, the community came together to prevent a tragedy.
In the case of many more like her, Silver Alert will hopefully do the same.
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