Maryland's new “Silver Alert” program became law on Oct. 1, 2009. The law directs the Maryland State Police to coordinate a notification plan that will be activated when certain criteria are met involving a person with a cognitive disorder who is missing. 

Patterned after the AMBER Alert program for critically missing children, the Silver Alert requires that certain criteria be met involving the missing person. If the situation warrants, state or local police investigating the disappearance will contact the Maryland State Police Silver Alert coordinator. 

Upon confirmation of the Silver Alert criteria, the coordinator will contact the Maryland Emergency Management Agency and request an emergency alert. This alert will go to all Maryland police departments, media outlets, and 9-1-1 centers. 

The state police coordinator will also contact the State Highway Administration. Alert information, including a description of the person and the vehicle he or she is traveling in, will then be displayed on overhead highway signs in the geographic area where the missing person was last seen.  Information may also be broadcast on the Highway Advisory Radio network. 

 The Silver Alert program is the result of legislation introduced in the Maryland General Assembly by Delegate Benjamin Kramer and Sen. Rona Kramer, both of whom are from Montgomery County.  The legislation was passed and signed into law by Gov. Martin O'Malley. 

“Our new Silver Alert program gives us a coordinated way to communicate information about a critically missing person quickly and to as many people as possible,” Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Terrence B. Sheridan said.   

In order for an alert to be issued, a police department must request the alert after the following criteria are met:

- The missing person must suffer from a cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer's, or dementia;
- The person's disappearance must pose a true threat to the person's health and safety;
- The missing person must be traveling in a vehicle and there must be enough descriptive information about the person and the vehicle for police to issue an alert;
- The investigating police department has already activated a local alert by contacting media in their area; and
- The missing person has been entered into the National Crime Information Center database.

Source: Department of Maryland State Police; 410-653-4236