A Turquoise Alert will now be issued when there's a report of a missing endangered person, including members of Indigenous tribes, people under age 65 and others meeting specific criteria.
Earlier this year, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, D-Arizona, directed the Department of Public Safety to begin implementation of the Turquoise Alert. The governor has more recently signed legislation (House Bill 2281) codifying the alert into state law.
Because of the work by the governor and DPS, the alert will be deployed before the deadline called for in the legislation, also known as “Emily’s Law.” It was named after 14-year-old Emily Pike. A member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, Pike went missing in January and was later found dead. The bill named after her was sponsored by state Reps. Teresa Martinez, Brian Garcia, Mae Peshlakai and Myron Tsosie.
Arizona DPS Director Jeffrey Glover agreed, adding the Turquoise Alert “can make a critical difference” in the location of missing people and help bring them home safely.
Tribal groups applaud the effort and are thanking the governor for her efforts for the new alert, which has a website: azdps.gov/turquoise-alert.
Paul Russell, president of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, said tribal communities have for many years faced crises involving missing and murdered Indigenous persons without any advanced emergency systems to help locate those people.
