OLYMPIA, Wash. – A new bill in the state Legislature could create the country’s first alert system for missing Indigenous women.
State Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Representative Debra Lekanoff of Anacortes have been working together on the bill, which would create special alerts in the event an Indigenous woman is reported missing.
Those alerts would be sent as a high priority to news stations and highway patrol officers and would be displayed on highway signs when activated.
In a statement, Ferguson said that Indigenous people, especially women, are reported missing or found murdered at a higher rate than any other ethnic group in the US.
Ferguson and Lekanoff cited the success rate of Washington’s Silver Alert system in creating the new bill.
The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Alert System bill will be introduced in the next legislative session.
