Colorado Politics

Colorado rolls out emergency alert system for missing Indigenous people

A new emergency alert system that focuses on missing Indigenous people in Colorado is scheduled to go live on Friday.

The Missing Indigenous Person Alert was created by the state legislature’s passage of Senate Bill 150 in May, which also established the Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives to facilitate these investigations. 

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced the alert system’s completion on Tuesday. 

This makes Colorado the second state in the country to offer law enforcement alerts for missing Indigenous people, joining Washington. 

“The CBI understands the importance and effectiveness of the various alerts that are in place in Colorado, and we are pleased to have been asked to develop this newest alert in an effort to quickly locate missing indigenous persons and return them safely to their loved ones,” CBI Director John Camper said. 

More than four out of five Indigenous people in the U.S. have experienced violent crime, according to national data. Those are some of the highest rates of violence for any demographic group, with Indigenous women nearly three times more likely to be murdered than white women.

Denver is rated 7th in the U.S. for most missing and murdered Indigenous women not included in law enforcement databases, according to the Urban Indian Health Institute. In 2016, the institute found that only 2% of 5,712 Indigenous women and girls who were missing were found in the Department of Justice’s federal missing persons’ database.

“Far too often, Native women and relatives are completely unseen and unheard,” said SB-150 sponsor Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, during the bill’s passage. “Every single Indigenous family has been touched by this issue. They have gone missing, they have gone murdered and their families’ cries for help to solve the cases have gone unheard.” 

The new alert adds to the CBI’s current alert systems for missing children, seniors, endangered adults, people with developmental disabilities, suspects who killed or seriously injured law enforcement officers and suspects who killed or seriously injured a person in a hit-and-run.

When the MIPA alert is activated, law enforcement will be notified electronically and information about the missing person will be distributed to media outlets and Indigenous tribes via email and text. The Colorado Department of Transportation will also display any relevant vehicle information on signs across the state. 

The CBI will issue the new alerts through its existing alert system at the request of local law enforcement. Under SB-150, law enforcement agencies are required to notify CBI of missing Indigenous people within eight hours of a report, or within two hours if the missing person is a child. 

A sample of Colorado’s new Missing Indigenous Person Alert. 
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation
Miranda Muehl, of Mustang, Okla., marches during a march to call for justice for missing and murdered indigenous women at the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma in Concho, Okla., on June 14, 2019.  (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

PREV

PREVIOUS

Judge refuses to halt Colorado ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy for children

A federal judge has refused to block enforcement of a 2019 Colorado law banning “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ children, rejecting several arguments from a licensed counselor in Colorado Springs who alleges the law violates her First Amendment rights as a professional and a Christian. Kaley Chiles requested a preliminary injunction against House Bill 19-1129, which […]

NEXT

NEXT UP

Food licensing cost-effective changes start in June, if passed by Denver City Council

A change to the food licensing requirements in Denver could reduce licensing fees for about 80% of retail food providers in the city starting in June, according to Eric Escudero, communications director for Department of Excise and Licenses in the City and County of Denver. Department Executive Director Molly Duplechian said the food safety requirements […]


Welcome Back.

Streak: 9 days i

Stories you've missed since your last login:

Stories you've saved for later:

Recommended stories based on your interests:

Edit my interests