Ceremonial bill signing held for new Colorado missing student response protocols law created after Megan Trussell's death

More than a year after University of Colorado Boulder student Megan Trussell went missing, her death is prompting change at the Colorado State Capitol.

The body of the 18-year-old was found in Boulder Canyon.

Trussell's parents Joe Trussel and Vanessa Diaz say police waited 48 hours to issue an alert for Megan, and only did so after state lawmakers got involved.

"We knew from that first moment that something was terribly wrong. She hadn't used her phone in three days. Yet nobody took us seriously," said Joe Trussell.

A ceremonial bill signing was held on Thursday afternoon for Senate Bill 120. It creates missing student response protocols for the state's public and private colleges and trade schools and expands missing person alert training for law enforcement.

The measure gives schools 6 hours after receiving a report of a missing student to take extra steps, including:

- Checking phone records and social media posts
- Going door to door at the student's dorm
- Questioning school staff

After 6 hours, the institution must notify law enforcement, which has 8 hours to enter the student's information in the state's criminal database.