A silver alert in Virginia is officially called the Senior Alert, and it applies only to missing adults over 60 who have a cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.1Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia Title 52 – Virginia Senior Alert Program The Virginia State Police run the program, and an alert goes out only after local law enforcement verifies the person is missing, confirms the diagnosis, and determines the disappearance poses a credible threat to their health or safety. If the missing adult is younger than 60 or doesn’t have a qualifying cognitive condition, a separate program called the Critically Missing Adult Alert may apply instead.
Who Qualifies
Three things must be true for a Senior Alert. The person must be over 60. They must have a cognitive impairment, with Alzheimer’s and dementia named specifically in the statute, severe enough that they cannot care for themselves without a caregiver.1Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia Title 52 – Virginia Senior Alert Program And law enforcement must find a “credible threat” to the person’s health and safety.2Virginia State Police. Senior Alert Program Information
“Credible threat” is more flexible than it sounds. An officer might weigh extreme temperatures, missed medications, unfamiliarity with the area, or a known history of wandering. The Virginia State Police can also authorize an alert under “other circumstances” they deem appropriate, which leaves room for situations the statute doesn’t name directly.
The age cutoff is strict. A 45-year-old with early-onset dementia will not qualify, no matter how urgent the case. For a younger adult, the Critically Missing Adult Alert is the right route (covered below).
What Has to Be in Place Before an Alert Goes Out
The Virginia State Police use a seven-point checklist, and every item has to be satisfied. The missing person has to be over 60 with their location unknown. They have to have the qualifying diagnosis. Law enforcement has to have determined the credible threat. Officers have to have confirmed the person is actually missing, including a search of the immediate area when no vehicle is involved. There has to be enough identifying detail about the person or vehicle to give the public something to look for. The person has to have been entered into the Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN), the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC), and reported to the Virginia Missing Person Information Clearinghouse. And a photograph has to have been provided to the clearinghouse.2Virginia State Police. Senior Alert Program Information
The area-search step is where cases often slow down. If the person left in a car, officers can skip it. If not, they walk the surrounding area first. Families find this hard when every minute feels critical, but the step exists to keep a statewide alert from going out for someone who wandered next door.
The photograph requirement is absolute. Without a current, clear photo in the hands of the clearinghouse, the alert cannot activate.
What to Have Ready If You Care for Someone at Risk
Preparation makes the difference between an alert that goes out in hours and one that stalls on missing paperwork. Keep a file with:
- A recent, clear photograph of the person.
- Height, weight, hair color, and distinguishing features.
- A description of what they typically wear or wore most recently.
- Vehicle year, make, model, color, and plate if they drive.
- Medical documentation of the Alzheimer’s, dementia, or other cognitive diagnosis.
Every missing detail means another phone call or verification step before the alert can go public.
How the Alert Gets Activated
Call your local police department or sheriff’s office first. Local officers gather the details, do any required area search, and enter the person into VCIN and NCIC. They then contact the Virginia State Police with everything they’ve collected.3Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia Title 52 – Virginia Senior Alert Program – Section 52-34.6
Alerts come in three sizes: local, regional, and statewide. The local law enforcement agency decides whether to issue a local alert, in consultation with the Virginia State Police. Only the State Police can authorize a regional or statewide alert.3Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia Title 52 – Virginia Senior Alert Program – Section 52-34.6 A case can start local and expand if the person isn’t found quickly or if evidence suggests they’ve traveled.
Participation in the Senior Alert Program is voluntary for local law enforcement agencies and for media outlets. The statute does not require either to take part.4Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 52-34.5 – Establishment of the Virginia Senior Alert Program Most do, but it’s discretionary.
How the Public Hears About It
Once the Virginia State Police authorize an alert, the information moves across several channels at once. The Virginia Department of Transportation can post descriptions and plate numbers on overhead highway message signs. The Emergency Alert System pushes broadcasts to local radio and television. Law enforcement and news outlets share the alert on social media. The Virginia State Police post it on their website. Virginia Lottery terminals in retail locations have also been used to display alert information.
Virginia does not currently have a dedicated mobile app for Senior Alert push notifications. The Ready Virginia app and the FEMA app handle weather and emergency preparedness, not missing-person alerts. Wireless Emergency Alerts, the loud tones that interrupt your phone, are reserved mainly for AMBER Alerts involving children, severe weather, and presidential alerts.
What to Do If You See Someone Matching an Alert
Call 911 or the Virginia State Police at (804) 674-2026, the number staffed during active alerts. Any law enforcement agency that locates the missing person must notify the Virginia State Police immediately, and the alert is then cancelled, with highway signs taken down and the State Police website updated.3Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia Title 52 – Virginia Senior Alert Program – Section 52-34.6
The statute sets no maximum duration. An alert stays active until the person is found or law enforcement determines cancellation is appropriate; there is no automatic 24- or 48-hour expiration.
If the Person Doesn’t Qualify: The Critically Missing Adult Alert
Virginia has a second program for adults who fall outside the Senior Alert’s narrow scope. The Critically Missing Adult Alert covers any adult 18 or older whose disappearance poses a credible threat to their health and safety, including adults with a developmental disability, intellectual disability, or mental illness.5Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 52-34.10 – Definitions A 30-year-old with schizophrenia, for instance, could qualify under this program but never under the Senior Alert.
The Virginia State Police can also activate a Critically Missing Adult Alert under “other circumstances” they deem appropriate.6Virginia State Police. Critically Missing Adult Alert Program Information The activation path is the same: report to local law enforcement, who then coordinate with the State Police. The documentation you’d prepare is the same too.
If the Person May Have Left the State
The NCIC entry required for Senior Alert activation does work across state lines. Because NCIC is a national database used by every law enforcement agency in the country, a missing person entered there can be identified during a traffic stop or welfare check anywhere in the United States. The Senior Alert statute itself does not create a formal reciprocity agreement with Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, or any other neighboring state. If investigators believe the person has crossed into another state, coordination happens through standard inter-agency contact, not through automatic extension of Virginia’s alert.
If the person has family or past ties outside Virginia, tell officers early. That gives them specific jurisdictions to call rather than a national database to hope for.