Legislation advanced by the Colorado Senate aims to improve missing persons investigations involving women from marginalized groups.

If enacted, Senate Bill 95 would shorten the timeframe before a person can be reported missing from 24 hours to two hours for minors and eight hours for adults. The bill would also require state law enforcement to collect and report data and trends regarding missing women and girls from marginalized groups, including people of color, LGBTQ+ people and older adults.

Bill sponsor Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, said the bill is partially inspired by Aaroné Thompson, a 6-year-old Black girl who went missing in Aurora.

Thompson’s father reported her as a runaway in 2005, though investigators believe she may have died up to two years before the report. Thompson’s body was never found, and her father wasn’t convicted for her death until 2009.

“We hear about a lot of women that are not of color that get news coverage nationally and are found,” Fields said. “Far too often when there is a Black young girl or a transgender woman or an Indigenous woman or someone who is from the aging population, sometimes they are not found.”

Fields said it is important to protect women of color as they are disproportionately victims of crimes, such as homicide and domestic violence. In 2020, one-third of the nearly 300,000 girls and women reported missing in the U.S. were Black, according to the National Crime Information Center.

The bill passed the state Senate in a nearly unanimous 33-1 vote on Wednesday, with Douglas County Republican Sen. Chris Holbert being the only “no” vote.

“I’m not opposed to ‘improving missing persons investigations,’ which is the title of the bill. I am, however, reluctant to support unequal protection under the law,” said Holbert, who serves as Senate Minority Leader. “Treating some people differently than others isn’t equal protection and/or equal application of law.” 

Supporters of the bill argue that protection under the law is already unequal.

Micaela Parker, a student at the University of Denver, said her friend has been missing from Aurora since mid-January without any leads or media coverage. While the data requirements of SB-95 would not apply to men, Parker said more needs to be done to protect people of color in general.

Parker compared the treatment of her friend – a 24-year-old Black man named Terrell Whitley – to that of Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old white woman who went missing while traveling with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie.  

Amplified by public pressure after videos of the couple went viral, the search for Petito garnered national media attention and law enforcement involvement across several states. The massive investigation resulted in the discovery of Petito’s body and, later, of Laundrie’s body. A medical examiner concluded he committed suicide and authorities said he claimed responsibility for Petito’s death in a notebook.

“We are seeing the scary difference, not only in the cases being publicized, but the help being given and the resources allocated between BIPOC communities who are dealing with missing people and white-identifying communities who are dealing with missing people,” Parker said.

During the search for Petito and Laundrie, nine other bodies were discovered, the Daily Mail reported. One of the bodies was of Lauren Cho, a Korean American woman whose missing person case gained attention on social media after people criticized the unequal coverage of her compared to Petito.

The bill has received no opposition and is supported by groups including County Sheriffs of Colorado, Colorado Fraternal Order of Police and Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance.

“Far too many people are coming up missing every day. There are predators out there and they’re looking for the most vulnerable people,” Fields said. “This sends a strong message: When you decide to snatch and grab a person of color or anybody, we are going to quickly and swiftly report it and we’re going to make sure that information is available.”