Washington's Missing Indigenous People Alert system goes live

The first Missing Indigenous People Alert system in the United States was activated in Washington today.

“Hopefully, like our other alerts, the system will not be needed very often," said Carrie Gordon, director of WSP's Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit. "But when it is needed and used, we feel it can be a very helpful tool in recovery.”

Indigenous people go missing at a significantly higher rate compared to the general population, according to a news release from the Washington State Patrol.

“This is a significant step for our state and agency,” Gordon said. “We know that indigenous people go missing at a significantly higher rate than the general population. WSP currently has two full time tribal liaisons that work with tribal law enforcement and advocacy groups to coordinate state communications and response to this issue. The new M.I.P.A. system will be one more tool in rapid response by the state that will hopefully allow us to find and assist indigenous people who are in danger.”

The new system is designed to help find indigenous people who go missing and bring them home. All law enforcement agencies in Washington will be notified about the missing person, and subscribers to the system will also get a message.

You can subscribe to missing indigenous persons list here.

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