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New Maryland legislation would fill age gap in statewide missing person alert system

Rashawn Williams was missing for six days before he was found at the Glenmont Metro Station.

WHEATON-GLENMONT, Md. — A Maryland family is pushing to fill a gap in the statewide alert system after a missing person case highlighted a missing piece. Last year, 31-year-old Rashawn Williams was missing for nearly a week before he was eventually found safely, but his parents were frustrated no alert went out to notify the public he was missing. 

Williams has severe Down syndrome and is nonverbal. Because of certain criteria, he did not qualify for any statewide alerts at the time. On Tuesday, family and lawmakers are hoping to change that. 

RELATED: Family says missing man with Down syndrome was found in Metro station where he was last seen

Williams' family says the whole experience was a nightmare, and they want to make sure no other family has to go through what they did. That's why they are testifying at a senate hearing about what happened, and how Williams' case fell through the cracks when it came to the alert system. They're hoping their story will spark change. 

Williams didn't qualify for an Amber Alert because he's too old. But he is also too young to qualify for a Silver Alert, which is the alert that goes out to warn the public an adult with certain cognitive impairments is missing. For a Silver Alert, the missing person has to be at least 60 years old.

Senate Bill 817 would establish a new alert in the state of Maryland. The Purple Alert would fill the age gap, and inform the public if a person with an intellectual or developmental disability or brain injury went missing.

"It was a horrendous situation he was in," Rashawn's father, Jimmy Hall said. "This Purple Alert program will benefit the next family so they don't have to go through it."

Right now, Florida is the only state that has implemented the Purple Alert system. Mississippi is currently working on legislation to implement it.

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