The father of an 11-year-old boy with autism and the daughter of a senior with Alzheimer’s disease, who both died after going missing, are among those urging the Ontario government to create a new alert to keep people like them safe.
A private member’s bill from New Democrat Monique Taylor that would implement an alert system for vulnerable people similar to Amber Alerts is now being studied by a legislative committee.
The bill was inspired by the stories of Draven Graham, a boy with autism who drowned in 2022 after going missing, and Shirley Love, a senior who died in December of that year after leaving her home not dressed for winter weather, Taylor said. She read out supportive statements from their families.
“This isn’t just about my son, Draven, or children in general,” Justin Graham’s statement read. “This is for anyone that has a disability. This bill is not only to protect our children and loved ones, but for the safety and peace of mind that they’re going to be safe going forward.”
Shirley Love went missing on a sunny December afternoon, but within two hours darkness fell and bitterly cold temperatures set in, her daughter wrote in a statement read out by Taylor.
“She was not dressed for winter weather and her confusion would prevent her from seeking shelter or returning home,” Lori Brown said in her statement.
“Two hours was all we had. My mom died cold and alone in a brushy area of a nearby golf course, a tragic end to a beautiful life that could have been prevented with a simple alert.”
There are already various tools used to find missing people and try to help keep vulnerable people out of danger, Taylor said, but this alert system would be a necessary additional layer.
“There is not one system that catches all and I don’t think that anybody really is looking to build one system that catches all,” she told the committee.
