Our state’s first Silver Alert had a happy ending for a local man.
The first Silver Alert was issued Sept. 10, 2015, for 83-year-old Bryant Merrick after he was reported missing to the Issaquah Police Department.
The alert went out at 9:30 a.m., and was posted on Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) digital billboards in three counties.
Merrick was located by the Seattle Police Department early Friday morning and is safe.
A Silver Alert is activated when a missing person 60 or older, who has a form of dementia, is not able to return to safety without assistance.
When vehicle information is associated with the Silver Alert, WSDOT highway signs and highway advisory radio messages provide a brief description of the vehicle and license plate number.
Silver Alerts join AMBER Alerts, Endangered Missing Person Advisories and Blue Alerts to assist law enforcement in getting information to the public quickly about missing people and, in the case of Blue Alerts, suspects in the murder or assault of a police officer.