A new alert system for missing adults took effect on Wednesday across Oklahoma.
House Bill 1077 created the Kasey Alert system, which will notify the public of anyone between the ages of 18 and 59 who goes missing in the state.
The bill was authored by Rep. Ken Luttrell (R-District 37) and is named after Kasey Russell, a 29-year-old citizen of the Cherokee Nation who went missing in 2016. His remains were found in 2022.
Other alert systems already existed in the state, but only for those in specific age groups or circumstances.
“It really closes that gap in between the AMBER alert and the Silver alert," said Rep. Ajay Pittman (D-District 99), who was a co-author of HB1077. "Anyone who goes missing, no matter the age, no matter the ethnic background, no matter the socio-economic class should have every resource looking for them.”
While the alert affects all adults in the state, more details will be made available if the person is indigenous, such as which tribal authority to contact.
Pittman, who is part of the Seminole Nation, said the bill had been supported by various sovereign governments in the hopes that missing indigenous people especially will be given a spotlight.
"This is for all Native people," she said, "Native people don't get the same resources as even someone who lived within non-tribal jurisdiction and so this is going to help them as well."
Rep. Daniel Pae (R-District 62), who also co-authored the bill, said he also hopes the new alert system will help address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people.
“Whenever we have someone who is Native American who does go missing, that information can also be included within the alert," Pae said.
A spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, which already oversees other alert systems in the state, told Public Radio Tulsa the Kasey Alert system is already up and running.
