INDIANAPOLIS - This year, Indiana became one of the first dozen states in the nation to enact a ‘Green Alert’

– similar to a Silver Alert, but for a missing at-risk veteran or servicemember (including reservists and guardsmen). We know that, unlike other endangered adults, when a veteran goes missing, they are much more likely to die by suicide thereafter, making the need to find them in a timely manner perhaps even more critical.

We also know that veterans who have gone missing are more likely to be armed and more likely to be in the throes of a mental health crisis when they’re found. Disturbingly, before the Green Alert, law enforcement had no mechanism to know whether the person they were searching for was a veteran, dramatically increasing the risk to both first responders and the veteran themselves.

Unlike other states, Mitch tried to ensure the bar for issuance of a Green Alert is relatively low. Officers merely need to confirm the person is a missing person at-risk (as previously defined in statute) and have a reasonable belief that they’re a veteran. They don’t have to waste time – or the family’s or DOD’s attention – by locating a DD214, for example.

The Green Alert had been proposed each of the previous five legislative sessions. It was originally proposed by Rep. Ross Deal (D – Mishawaka), a Marine. Mitch picked it up after Ross lost in 2020 and made it his priority bill each year until he finally got it across the finish line this year. The first Green Alert was issued a few weeks ago for a Veteran who had been left in Indianapolis by his friends after demonstrating symptoms of PTSD. He was found safe last Thursday after being located by IMPD.

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