LANSING, Mich. (July 3, 2026) — Today, the Michigan Senate finalized bipartisan legislation spearheaded by Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) to help find missing seniors and vulnerable adults through the creation of a statewide Silver Alert public notification system. Following the advancement of the bill this morning, Sen. McMorrow released the following statement:
“In the blink of an eye, a family’s whole world changes when a loved one goes missing. We’ve seen that pain too many times in our state. From James Barcus, a 78-year-old who was found dead 24 hours after he walked away from the Michigan Veterans Home in Grand Rapids, or Yousif Naim, a 30-year-old autistic man found dead in Dearborn Heights after he wandered away from home, no family should face that fear without every tool available to bring their loved one home.
“With the final passage of this legislation, we’re one step closer to adding vulnerable adults to the state’s existing Amber Alerts system, creating Silver Alerts that could help the public identify and find their loved ones before it’s too late. That’s why this legislation matters, and I’m grateful it’s now headed to the governor’s desk to become law.”
Senate Bill 456 would require local law enforcement to notify Michigan State Police (MSP) when a senior or vulnerable adult goes missing. MSP would then activate alerts through the federal Wireless Emergency Alert system, ensuring immediate public notification — much like an Amber Alert.
Currently, Michigan law allows Silver Alerts to be shared amongst first responders, but not with the public, who often are first to intercept missing and vulnerable seniors. Thirty-seven states plus Washington, D.C. already have these or similar systems.
Passed with unanimous support in the Senate and near-unanimous support in the House, this commonsense legislation now heads to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to be signed into law.