Colorado grants help state's missing persons programs

In 2022, the Colorado Legislature passed a bill to provide financial assistance to law enforcement agencies for the purpose of locating people who go missing due to medical conditions such as Alzheimer's or neurological disorders. Although it has been a helpful asset, three years later the demand far exceeds the funds to address the issue.

Anywhere from dozens to hundreds of people go missing in Colorado each year. 

"The whole idea, obviously, is to find people when they go missing as soon as possible, because time is always of the essence," said Colorado Bureau of Investigation Strategic Communications Director Rob Low.

Senior Alerts specifically account for ⅓ to ½ of all alerts the CBI issues annually.

"Unfortunately, as people age, there's a lot of cognitive issues," said Low.

So far this year, the bureau says it has issued 46 on behalf of elderly people who went missing, which is more than all the Medina, Endangered Missing and Amber Alerts combined.

"Our aim is to reunite seniors who go missing with their loved ones as soon as possible," said Low.

Last year, more than a dozen law enforcement agencies applied for grant funding from the roughly $90,000 allocated to missing persons programs, particularly those in rural communities.

"The truth is, there's always a greater demand for these limited funds than we can give," said Low.

The money has previously gone toward things like drones, thermal imagers and tracking devices, and is awarded based on how the agency will use it.

"That helps us determine which agencies we think need the funds most, and we prioritize based on that," said Low. "Last year, after we announced who we awarded these grants to we heard from other departments who were like, 'We didn't even know this existed. How can we apply for next year?' Because we know this will be useful for us someday, in some way," he said.

Local law enforcement agencies can apply for the next round of grants through the month of October. The funding mostly goes to rural communities such as the Pagosa Springs and Cortez police departments, but Aurora police also received money to expand its efforts last year.