§ 67-2922 — ENDANGERED MISSING PERSON ALERT

(1) There is hereby established a statewide alert system known as the "Endangered Missing Person Alert" that shall be developed and implemented by the Idaho state police missing person clearinghouse. The endangered missing person alert system shall be a program of voluntary cooperation between broadcasters, cable systems, and local and state agencies to enhance the public’s ability to assist in recovering missing and endangered persons.
(2) As used in this section:
(a) "Law enforcement agency" means a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the search for a suspect in a case involving an endangered missing person; and
(b) "Missing person" means a person whose whereabouts are unknown to a parent, guardian, caretaker, or others who have normal contact with the person.
(3) An endangered missing person alert plan shall be developed by a committee, whose membership shall be determined by the director of the Idaho state police, with members from city, county, state, and tribal law enforcement, broadcasters, emergency management officials, and vulnerable population commissions. Such plan shall provide for the use of the emergency alert system, the wireless emergency alert system, and the state police notification system. The endangered missing person alert advisory and review committee shall provide administrative oversight to develop, implement, review, and recommend revisions to the endangered missing person alert plan.
(4) An endangered missing person alert shall not be issued under the same criteria as an Amber alert and shall not be distributed automatically statewide. An endangered missing person alert may be distributed based on the geographic area in which the missing person was last seen or is believed to be. An endangered missing person alert shall be issued with the information available to law enforcement, and lack of detailed information shall not preclude the issuance of an alert. For an incident to qualify for issuance of an endangered missing person alert, an individual, regardless of age:
(a) Must be reported missing to a law enforcement agency;
(b) Must be, or must be believed to be, a temporary or permanent resident of Idaho;
(c) Must be at a location that cannot be determined by a person familiar with the missing individual; and
(d) Must be someone:
(i) Who is incapable of returning to the missing individual’s residence without assistance by reason of:
1. Mental illness;
2. Intellectual disability;
3. Dementia;
4. Weather conditions; or
5. Another physical or mental incapacity that requires care of the individual or management of the individual’s property;
(ii) Who is missing as the result of abduction by a stranger and does not meet the criteria for an Amber alert or blue alert;
(iii) Who is missing under unexplained, involuntary, or suspicious circumstances;
(iv) Whose disappearance may be the result of the commission of a crime;
(v) Whose disappearance occurred under circumstances that are inherently dangerous;
(vi) Who is in need of medical attention or prescription medication; or
(vii) Who has previously been the victim of a threat of violence or an act of violence.
(5) Before requesting activation of an endangered missing person alert, a law enforcement agency shall verify that the criteria described in subsection (4) of this section have been satisfied. The law enforcement agency shall assess the appropriate boundaries of the alert based on the nature of the endangerment and the circumstances surrounding the last known location of the missing person or suspect.
(6) The state police shall terminate an endangered missing person alert with respect to a particular incident if:
(a) The missing person or suspect is located or the incident is otherwise resolved. Other law enforcement agencies shall notify the law enforcement agency that initiated the alert immediately when such agency locates the missing person, suspect, or vehicle; or
(b) The Idaho state police determines that the endangered missing person alert is no longer an effective tool for locating the missing person.
(7) There shall be no required waiting period for a law enforcement agency to report or investigate an endangered missing person case.
(8) Any entity or individual involved in the dissemination of a endangered missing person alert generated pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not be liable for any civil damages arising from such dissemination.

Legislative History

[67-2922, added 2022, ch. 297, sec. 1, p. 938; am. 2023, ch. 218, sec. 24, p. 650.]