FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — When a child goes missing, an Amber Alert is sent to your phone and their photo is quickly spread so the public knows who to look for. One family is asking for an official statewide Golden Alert system that would trigger that same response.
In January 2017, 78-year-old Fred Warner was found dead in his dark gray Toyota. His body was found about a month after his family reported him missing. It was a month of questions, confusion and anguish for his sons.
“You get to the point where you want to hear something, good or bad, just so you can get that resolved,” said Randy Warner.
On Tuesday, Rick and Randy Warner tried to convince lawmakers to vote yes on House Bill 150, which would create an official statewide Golden Alert system that would have a similar response as an Amber Alert.
They say it is something that could’ve helped them when their dad, who had dementia, went missing in his car.
“One of the avenues we tried were the electric signs on I-75. We knew he lived less than a mile and a half from the I-75 interchange, so we thought that would be an excellent opportunity to put his license plate, car, that stuff and get the information out quickly,” said Rick Warner.
They were told that wasn’t possible, and the information that was released didn’t help much.
“The Golden Alert that eventually came out days later was actually false information, wrong car, wrong description. We thought even that was a wasted opportunity to maybe get the word out for people to look for him,” said Rick Warner.
Now, they want to make sure that this doesn’t happen to other families.
