DENISON, TX - The Amber Alert system is credited with saving hundreds of missing children from potential danger. Authorities say the Silver Alert is equally as effective in helping to locate missing seniors. Now, one local community is making it easier for residents to use.
Memory loss.
Confusion with time or place.
Difficulty retracing steps.
These are signs Debra Jouglard is all too familiar with.
"I was scared, because I was afraid something had happened to her."
In 2010, her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimers and not long after she gave the whole family a good scare when she got in her car and disappeared.
"I became frantic, so I started calling my brother and everyone else I knew," said Jouglard.
McKinney Police issued a Silver Alert and searched for her, but fortunately she came home on her own.
She had been gone for about 6 hours and didn't know where she'd been or how long she'd been gone.
The Alzheimers Association says 6 out of 10 people with dementia will wander and get lost, but the Denison Police Department says the Silver Alert can help if you register their information here.
So if you ever have to call here, when time is crucial, it makes it that much faster for law enforcement to find your loved one and get them home.
"If we already have that information on hand, that shortens the length of time that we have to speak to loved ones to find out the information that we need," said Lieutenant Tillman.
Debra's mother doesn't drive anymore, but she still checks on her every day.
"It still worries me that she could get out and she might be walking and fall or something and nobody would know it."
It's a concern, Tillman hopes will push people to register their loved ones.
"Provide them with a certain peace of mind that knowing if something does happen, that we already have information on hand," said Tillman.
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