SILVER SPRING, Md. — The family of a man with Down syndrome who went missing in 2023 testified in Annapolis in support of a bill that would create the Purple Alert Program in Maryland.
When Rashawn Williams, 31, slipped away from his caretaker in Silver Spring, he was ineligible for an Amber Alert because he was an adult, and he was too young for a Silver Alert.
Surveillance video from the Metro system showed Williams, who is nonverbal, boarding a bus and later getting on and off trains.
Williams' father says that the delayed response from law enforcement officials cost his family valuable time in their regionwide search.
"Everybody is on their cell phones now. He came in contact with at least a hundred people. Maybe twenty of those people, even ten, would have seen the alert and notified authorities and he would have been found by the public," Jimmy Hall, Rashawn Williams's father told WUSA9 following his testimony in the State Senate.
Williams was found safe six days later inside a closet at the Glenmont Metro station.
"This is not about Rashawn, this is about the future families now," Hall said after sharing his testimony in support of Senate Bill 817, known as the Purple Alert Bill.
The legislation being considered by Maryland lawmakers, instructs Maryland State Police to create a system to quickly disseminate information to assist in finding the missing person. The bill would also require law enforcement officers to receive the training to share crucial details like if the person is nonverbal like Williams.
"Almost similar to an Amber Alert, but it's for people with critical needs, such as Rashawn," Hall added.
The Purple Alert Program would apply to people 18 to 60 with cognitive impairment, intellectual or developmental disabilities, or brain injuries.
If the bill is approved, this program would go into effect on Oct. 1.
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