JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Inside the Missouri Capitol, a group of people stood in front of the Children and Families House Committee on Tuesday to testify for HB 1840, which would create a Purple Alert system.
The system is similar to the Amber Alert system, however the Purple Alert would be designated for helping find missing people with developmental disabilities.
Last week, KSHB 41 reporter Braden Bates sat down with Danielle Rocha, who first proposed the bill, and Capt. Anthony Jackson, with the Kansas City Fire Department, who both shared their personal stories on how this bill could potentially help save lives in critical situations.
"They are all an equal member of our community, and we all equally deserve our love and support," Rocha said. "It will be life changing with an intervention program to help locate our missing kids and adults. I am strongly passionate about the neurodivergent families, and I feel like they deserve more protection."
Both Jackson and Rocha testified in front of the committee Tuesday, reiterating the importance of why seconds matter when looking for someone who has developmental disabilities goes missing.
Rocha also shared the testimony of Hope O'Keefe, whose 4-year-old son, who was diagnosed with autism, went missing. His body was later found in a nearby pond.
"Many people found out my son was missing because of a Facebook post, a Facebook post in a world where we can send emergency alerts to every phone within seconds. My 4-year-old child's life depended on social media shares. There is no automatic alert system for vulnerable children like Raymond," Rocha shared on behalf of O'Keefe. "I cannot change what happened to my son, but you can change what happens next. An alert system for missing children with special needs, similar to an Amber Alert, would give families a fighting chance."
Hali Rauer and her 10-year-old daughter Abigail also testified on behalf of their loved one, Hudson, who is nonverbal and has level 3 autism.
"This was important for me because my little brother likes to wander a lot, and it scares us a lot and we can’t hear him cause he can’t speak," Abigail shared after the hearing. "He deserves to get more help, and for other people to help means for a higher chance for it to happen."
Rauer, Abigail and Hudson's mother said this was an opportunity for her daughter to see the power she holds, and she has always been a strong advocate for her brother and hopes changes will be made.
"I hope that they heard the impact that already has happened with these families," Rauer said. "There were a couple that lost their children and we don’t want that statistic to continue."
Missouri Rep. Sherri Gallick, R-District 62, is sponsoring the bill, and she hopes it moves forward quickly.
"It’s too important," State Rep. Gallick said. "You heard from testimony from all the people that were here, this is an urgent matter. You don’t need to wait, and honestly I would like to see an emergency clause with this."
In terms of next steps, the bill will head to the Rules Committee, then to the Speaker and then sent to the House floor.
This is a developing story. KSHB 41 will be sharing the latest updates to HB 1840.
