Only a law enforcement agency can issue a regional or state Silver Alert. If your loved one is missing, please contact 9-1-1 immediately and then Get Help Now.
If you are a law enforcement officer and your agency needs to issue a Houston Regional Silver Alert, please call (832) 269-2553 or (713) 599-0235 for 24/7 support and activation assistance.
The Houston Regional Silver Alert System is administered by Texas Center for the Missing, and is designed to help locate missing elderly diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s. The program is a cooperative public service effort between local law enforcement, news media outlets, business partners, and the public.
Our local alert was funded in October 2014 by caring community individuals and local foundations. The Houston Regional Silver Alert covers the Houston-Galveston 14-county region, including Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker, Waller, and Wharton counties. The Houston Regional Silver Alert System provides investigation and activation training to law enforcement partners, as well as 24/7 emergency activation support.
Houston Regional Silver Alert Network Criteria
The following criteria must be met to activate the Houston Regional Silver Alert Network:
- The missing person is 65 years of age or older.
- The senior citizen has a diagnosed impaired mental condition, and the senior citizen’s disappearance poses a credible threat to the senior citizen’s health and safety. Family or legal guardian of the missing senior citizen must provide documentation from a medical or mental health professional of the senior citizen’s condition OR proof of prescription medication used to treat Alzheimer’s/dementia.
- It is confirmed that an investigation has taken place verifying that the senior citizen’s disappearance is due to his/her impaired mental condition, and alternative reasons for the senior citizen’s disappearance have been ruled out.
- There is sufficient information available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the senior citizen. Highway signs will be activated only if accurate vehicle information is available AND it is confirmed that the senior citizen was driving the vehicle at the time of the disappearance.
Missing children believed to be abducted under the age of 18 may qualify for an Amber Alert issued locally by the Houston Regional Amber Alert System or statewide by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Missing persons 18 years of age or older with intellectual disabilities may qualify for an Endangered Missing Persons Alert issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
How to Issue a Houston Regional Silver Alert
The Houston Regional Silver Alert System serves the 14 counties surrounding the Houston area and is managed by Texas Center for the Missing. If your agency feels an endangered adult has been taken from, or may be located in, the Greater Houston area, this is the appropriate Emergency Alert to issue. Regional Silver Alerts are distributed to local, state, and national law enforcement agencies, local media outlets, TCM’s Silver Alert Partners, and the Texas Department of Transportation.
1. Make sure you have all the information needed to issue the Silver Alert handy, including physical description of the missing individual, medical documentation, a vehicle description if possible, and photo.
2. Contact our Emergency Alert Coordinator at (832) 269-2553 or support@tcftm.org for activation assistance.
3. Once the Silver Alert is issued regionally, you may request alert reissuance in surrounding regions or statewide. Texas Center for the Missing will notify our partners of the Silver Alert via our organization’s distribution list and social media. TCM can also serve as a media liaison or consultant upon request.
4. To cancel an alert, contact our Emergency Alert coordinator. She will end the alert regionally, notify our partners of the cancellation, and will provide your agency with victim support resources or media liaison services as needed.
Contact our Emergency Alert coordinator at (832) 269-2553 or support@tcftm.org
for 24/7 support and activation assistance.
Texas State Silver Alert Network Criteria
The following five criteria must be met to activate the Texas State Silver Alert Network:
- The missing person is 65 years of age or older.
- The senior citizen has a diagnosed impaired mental condition, and the senior citizen’s disappearance poses a credible threat to the senior citizen’s health and safety. Family or legal guardian of the missing senior citizen must provide documentation from a medical or mental health professional of the senior citizen’s condition.*
- It is confirmed that an investigation has taken place verifying that the senior citizen’s disappearance is due to his/her impaired mental condition, and alternative reasons for the senior citizen’s disappearance have been ruled out.
- The Silver Alert request is within 72 hours of the senior citizen’s disappearance.
- There is sufficient information available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the senior citizen. Highway signs will be activated only if accurate vehicle information is available AND it is confirmed that the senior citizen was driving the vehicle at the time of the disappearance.
*Note: Medical documentation required for activation of the state’s Silver Alert Network should appear on physician’s letterhead, indicating the impaired mental condition, date of diagnosis, patient’s name, and include the physician’s signature.
How to Issue a Texas Statewide Silver Alert
In response to legislation enacted September 1, 2007, the Texas Department of Public Safety implemented the Texas Statewide Silver Alert Network as a means to assist law enforcement in the recovery of missing senior citizens with a documented mental impairment. Silver Alerts typically resemble those alerts issued for abducted children (Amber Alerts), using similar notification technologies (with the exception of EAS) to alert the public.
If your agency feels a missing endangered adult may be located outside the Houston area and in Texas, this is the appropriate Emergency Alert to issue.
- Make sure you have all the information needed to issue the Silver Alert handy, including physical description of the missing individual, medical documentation, a vehicle description if possible, and photos.
- Fill out the State form here to request a statewide Silver Alert. Please note the statewide submission and issuance process may take a few hours. For further submission procedures and follow-up, visit TxDPS Silver Alert Request Procedures webpage.
- Contact our Regional Emergency Alert Coordinator at (832) 269-2553 for statewide issuance support, local missing persons response resources, and media liaison services.
Victim Services
For assistance with Crime Victims’ Compensation or any other victim services, please contact Texas Center for the Missing Case Manager at (713) 599-0235 or mrangel@tcftm.org.