Only a law enforcement agency can request a 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 request a Houston Regional Silver Alert, please call (832) 269-2553 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 individuals 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 System Criteria
The following criteria must be met to activate the Houston Regional Silver Alert Network:
- Is the missing person 65 years of age or older or been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease?
- Does the senior citizen have a diagnosed impaired mental condition, and does the senior citizen’s disappearance pose a credible threat to the senior citizen’s health and safety? (Law enforcement shall require the family or legal guardian of the missing senior citizen to provide documentation from a medical or mental health professional of the senior citizen’s condition).
- Is it 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?
- Is the Silver Alert request within 72 hours of the senior citizen’s disappearance?
- Is there 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: A physician’s letterhead, indicating the impaired mental condition, date of diagnosis, patient’s name, with physician’s signature is recommended to satisfy the documentation requirement.
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.
Missing persons of any age with intellectual disabilities may qualify for a Houston Regional Endangered Missing Persons Alert.
How to Issue a Houston Regional Silver Alert
The Houston Regional Silver Alert System serves the 14-county Houston-Galveston region and is managed by Texas Center for the Missing. If your agency believes a missing elderly adult meets the Silver Alert Criteria, and believes the missing person may be in the 14-county Houston/Galveston 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 for 24/7 activation assistance.
3. Once the Silver Alert is issued regionally, TCM can assist in having the alert reissued in surrounding regions. If investigators believe the elderly missing person left the 14-county region you may contact the DPS Fusion Center to have the Silver Alert issued 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 at 832.269.2553. He will cancel 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
for 24/7 support and activation assistance.
How to Issue a Texas Statewide Silver Alert
If your agency believes a missing endangered elderly 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.
- 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.