News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
May is Silver Alert Month in Tennessee, and the Tennessee Sheriff’s Association is partnering with Alzheimer’s Tennessee to push new Silver Alert Kits.
Putnam Sheriff Eddie Farris said that the kits contain information to help law enforcement find older loved ones with memory-related illnesses that have gone missing.
“Then law enforcement has information at the tip of their hands and we don’t have to take time and let time go by when we could be searching for someone when we could be gathering information,” Farris said. “So the kit is really helpful.”
Farris said that they include addresses, updated photographs, and medical information. He said that he encourages any caregiver or loved one who might know individuals this could affect to keep a Silver Alert Kit on hand.
Farris said that over the past year there have been more than 80 Silver Alerts issued in the state, including Putnam County.
“Thank goodness most of the time before we ever get to a Silver Alert situation we end up usually finding the individual,” Farris said. “(…) We do have some alerts that we have to send out. Of course, we do that for safety so we can find that individual as soon and as quickly as possible before they could come to any harm or before they get too far.”
Farris said that the Silver Alert bill was signed into law by Governor Bill Lee last May. He said that while most law enforcement agencies had protocols in place for these situations, the Silver Alert streamlined the process and made it more efficient.
