Missing Indigenous Person Alert

On July 1, 2022, the Governor signed SB 22-150: Office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives 

This bill creates the Office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives and creates the Missing Indigenous Person Alert program to broadcast notice of missing indigenous persons.

It requires the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to create the program to include:

• A procedure for law enforcement agencies to verify an indigenous person is missing;
• A procedure to verify the missing person is of indigenous descent;
• Requires the CBI to issue an alert to media outlets in Colorado for broadcast of specific information to the public.

** Please note although the legislation was signed in July, this Alert was not active until December 30, 2022 **

Criteria

Criteria must be met to activate a Missing Indigenous Person Alert.

1. "Missing Indigenous Person Alerts" must be requested by the law enforcement agency of jurisdiction;
   • An investigating officer who has reason to believe a missing person meets the definition of a "missing indigenous person" may request a "Missing Indigenous Person Alert".
2. The subject must meet the definition of a "missing indigenous person":
   • He or she went missing while in Colorado;
   • The missing person is indigenous;
   • The subject's disappearance poses a credible threat to the safety and health of the person.

The investigating agency needs to enter the missing indigenous person into the Colorado Crime Information Center (CCIC) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database as a missing endangered person.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation will forward the information on to participating radio stations, television stations and other media outlets in Colorado. If there is a plate number associated with a vehicle, the Department of Transportation Traffic Operation Center may post the plate number on the Variable Message Signs (VMS) on Colorado highways.