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To: Judiciary B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representatives Gibbs (72nd), Butler-
Washington, Holloway (76th), James-Jones
HOUSE BILL NO. 1445
AN ACT TO CREATE NEW SECTION 45-41-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1
1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE STATEWIDE "GOLD ALERT SYSTEM" FOR PERSONS 2
AGES 18 TO 23; TO AMEND SECTION 45-41-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 3
TO REVISE THE PURPLE ALERT TO INCLUDE THE "GOLD ALERT"; AND FOR 4
RELATED PURPOSES. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 6
SECTION 1. The following section shall be codified as 7
Section 45-41-5, Mississippi Code of 1972: 8
45-41-5. (1) This section shall be known and cited as the 9
"Mississippi Gold Alert System Act of 2026." 10
(2) The Legislature finds that: 11
(a) A significantly large number of missing persons 12
eighteen (18) to twenty-three (23) years of age are often found 13
dead or severely injured; 14
(b) Many persons in this age range are legally adults, 15
but are still under the financial custody of their parents who are 16
not notified in a timely manner when they are missing; and 17
(c) When persons eighteen (18) to twenty-six (23) years 18
of age are missing many families are left with the unfortunate 19
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result that some individuals never return to their homes or to 20
their families; and 21
(d) No statewide, organized system exists to quickly 22
respond to missing persons in this age group. 23
(3) When used in this section, unless the context requires a 24
different definition, the following terms shall have the following 25
meanings: 26
(a) "E911" means Enhanced Universal Emergency Number 27
Service or Enhanced 911 Service, which is a telephone exchange 28
communications service by which a Public Safety Answering Point 29
designated by the county or local communication district may 30
receive telephone calls dialed to the telephone number 911. 31
(b) "First responders" means state and local law 32
enforcement personnel, fire department personnel, emergency 33
medical personnel, emergency management personnel and public works 34
personnel who may be deployed to bioterrorism attacks, terrorist 35
attacks, catastrophic or natural disasters and emergencies. 36
(c) "Originating local law enforcement agency" means a 37
local police or sheriff's office that has jurisdiction over the 38
area where a person became missing. 39
(4) (a) The Bureau of Investigation of the Department of 40
Public Safety shall implement a statewide "Gold Alert System" that 41
has the purpose of providing a tiered, rapid response system to 42
notify the public about missing endangered adults, who are 43
eighteen (18) to twenty-six (26) years of age. The initial 44
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response may be local, statewide or national based on available 45
information about the missing person. 46
(b) A Gold Alert activation request may be made only by 47
a law enforcement agency, and the Bureau of Investigation of the 48
Department of Public Safety may only activate a Gold Alert after a 49
request is made. 50
(c) To activate a Gold Alert, all of the following 51
criteria must be met: 52
(i) The adult age eighteen (18) to twenty-three 53
(23) years of age is believed to be missing and in imminent danger 54
regardless of circumstance; 55
(ii) The family, guardian or person who discovered 56
that the individual was missing has submitted a missing person's 57
report to the local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction 58
where the person became missing, with all waiting periods being 59
waived; and 60
(iii) The law enforcement agency that has 61
jurisdiction of where the person became missing reports the 62
incident to the Bureau of Investigation of the Department of 63
Public Safety through the Mississippi Highway Patrol Headquarters 64
Communication Center. 65
(d) To initiate a request to activate a Gold Alert, the 66
family, guardian or person who discovered that the individual was 67
missing must file immediately a report of the missing person with 68
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the local law enforcement agency where the person became missing 69
that includes the following information: 70
(i) A description of the missing person including 71
physical characteristics, clothing and photos, if available; 72
(ii) A description of the known circumstances 73
under which the person became missing including the time, place, 74
direction, possible destinations, whether the person is walking or 75
in a vehicle, and all other pertinent information concerning where 76
the person may have become missing; and 77
(iii) Updates on the missing person as new 78
information becomes available. 79
(e) The originating local law enforcement agency, after 80
completing the investigation expeditiously and determining that 81
the case meets the qualifying criteria prescribed in this section, 82
shall: 83
(i) Waive in the case of a Gold Alert, any waiting 84
periods for a missing person's report in order to galvanize the 85
appropriate communities rapidly to assist in the search for and 86
the safe recovery of the missing person; 87
(ii) Notify the Mississippi Highway Patrol 88
Headquarters Communication Center and electronically send to the 89
center the completed Gold Alert forms and available photos, signed 90
by the police chief, sheriff, commanding officer or his or her 91
designee; 92
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(iii) Enter the information into the National 93
Crime Information Center (NCIC); 94
(iv) Using a tiered approach based on known 95
circumstances, initiate an alert bulletin to all local law 96
enforcement, E911 and first responder agencies to search the 97
immediate area; 98
(v) Activate secondary alert systems to residents, 99
businesses, and broadcast media in the immediate area; 100
(vi) Provide a twenty-four-hour phone number to 101
receive calls while continuing the investigation; and 102
(vii) Update the family, guardian or person who 103
discovered that the individual was missing, as new information 104
becomes available. 105
(5) (a) After the Bureau of Investigation of the Department 106
of Public Safety has been contacted by a local law enforcement 107
agency requesting a Gold Alert activation, the Criminal 108
Information Center shall consider before the activation of the 109
Gold Alert procedures by the Gold Alert coordinator, or his or her 110
designee, the information contained in the initial Gold Alert 111
report form to ensure that it meets all criteria specified in 112
subsection (4)(c) of this section. Elements of the missing person 113
case to be considered are: 114
(i) Threat of imminent harm or death to the 115
missing person because of age, health, mental or physical 116
disability, environmental or weather conditions; 117
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(ii) Time of initial report in relation to the 118
time of disappearance, including whether the disappearance is 119
unexplained, involuntary or is under suspicious circumstances; 120
(iii) Believed to be walking or in a vehicle; 121
(iv) Witness information; 122
(v) Possible domestic dispute involving the 123
missing person; and 124
(vi) Other facts that indicate the missing person 125
is in danger of serious injury or death, including whether there 126
is possible criminal intent toward the missing person or whether 127
someone witnessed the disappearance. 128
(b) Each case shall be reviewed on its own merits, and 129
if there are extenuating circumstances, the required criteria in 130
this section may be amended or expanded depending on the merits 131
presented. 132
(c) Only the Gold Alert coordinator, or his or her 133
designee, may authorize activation of a statewide Gold Alert and 134
if an activation is authorized, the Criminal Information Center 135
shall: 136
(i) Prepare an announcement concerning the missing 137
person; 138
(ii) Contact the designated media stations to 139
activate the alert; and 140
(iii) Request the Mississippi Department of 141
Transportation to activate electronic signs, if appropriate. 142
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(d) If the missing person is believed to be in a 143
vehicle, the Gold Alert coordinator shall send information and 144
available photos via emails and fax to the statewide 145
communications systems, news media and other forms of public 146
communication or electronic resources. 147
(6) (a) Following the initial alert, a Gold Alert 148
broadcast shall be updated by television and radio stations as 149
necessary until such time that an end of alert message is received 150
from the law enforcement agency that requested the initial Gold 151
Alert. 152
(b) Local and statewide broadcast stations shall 153
exercise their own independent discretions as to whether to repeat 154
the required broadcasts prescribed in this section more frequently 155
and shall determine the frequency in which the alert is 156
re-broadcast following the initial alert. 157
(c) The Gold Alert termination notification shall be 158
issued twenty-four (24) hours after the airing of the latest and 159
most current information or when the case has been resolved and 160
verification from the originating local law enforcement agency has 161
been received by the Department of Public Safety. 162
(7) (a) If the circumstances of a person's disappearance do 163
not meet the criteria for a Gold Alert to activate statewide 164
communication systems, in addition to a local law enforcement 165
agency activating a Purple Alert, the Bureau of Investigation of 166
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the Department of Public Safety may offer an alternate form of 167
mass notification as provided in this section. 168
(b) The alternate form of mass notification may be an 169
email that includes a photograph and the Gold Alert initial 170
reporting form that is sent through a statewide network of law 171
enforcement and first responder agencies, news media offices and 172
other forms of public communication. 173
(c) The email authorized in paragraph (b) of this 174
subsection (7) shall contain information taken from the Gold Alert 175
initial reporting form that is submitted by the originating local 176
law enforcement agency. 177
(d) The email alerting news media and law enforcement 178
agencies of a person's disappearance that does not meet the 179
criteria of a Gold Alert activation shall include the following 180
paragraph at the beginning of the email: 181
"The (name of law enforcement agency) has requested the 182
following information be provided to the Mississippi news media 183
and law enforcement agencies: At the present time, information 184
being provided to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety by 185
the (name of law enforcement agency) does not meet the criteria to 186
activate a Gold Alert. It is left to the discretion of each law 187
enforcement agency and news department receiving this email as to 188
whether the attached information, regarding the disappearance of 189
this person and/or the photograph of this person, will be released 190
to the public." 191
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(e) If further investigation into the disappearance 192
produces evidence that may change the initial circumstances as 193
reported to local law enforcement, the Department of Public Safety 194
may reconsider activating a Gold Alert notwithstanding the 195
existence of an active Purple Alert previously initiated by a 196
local law enforcement agency. 197
SECTION 2. Section 45-41-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 198
amended as follows: 199
45-41-3. (1) In addition to the statewide Silver Alert 200
System * * * under Section 45-41-1 * * *, the Gold Alert System 201
under Section 45-41-5 and the Amber Alert System operated by the 202
Mississippi Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Public 203
Safety, there is established the Purple Alert as a standardized 204
system to be used by local law enforcement agencies to aid in the 205
search of a missing person. A Purple Alert may be in addition to: 206
an active Amber Alert; an active Silver Alert; an active Gold 207
Alert or any mass notification provided by email regarding a 208
person's disappearance that does not meet the criteria for a 209
Silver Alert * * * or Gold Alert. 210
(2) At a minimum, a Purple Alert must: 211
(a) Be determined by a local law enforcement agency, in 212
an emergency situation, to be a viable means by which a missing 213
person is likely to be returned to safety; 214
(b) Provide, to the greatest extent possible, for the 215
protection of the privacy, dignity and independence of the missing 216
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person by including standards aimed at preventing the inadvertent 217
or unnecessary broadcasting or dissemination of sensitive health 218
and diagnostic information; 219
(c) Limit the broadcasting and dissemination of alerts 220
and related information to the geographic areas where the missing 221
person could reasonably be, considering the person's circumstances 222
and physical and mental condition, the potential modes of 223
transportation available to the person or suspected to be 224
involved, and the known or suspected circumstances of the person's 225
disappearance; and 226
(d) Be activated only when a law enforcement agency 227
receives a report of a missing person which includes the 228
information required under Section 45-41-1(4)(d). 229
(3) Under a Purple Alert, a local law enforcement agency may 230
broadcast information concerning a missing person: 231
(a) Who has: a mental or cognitive disability that is 232
not Alzheimer's disease or a dementia-related disorder; an 233
intellectual disability or a developmental disability; a brain 234
injury; another physical, mental or emotional disability that is 235
not related to substance abuse; or a combination of any of these; 236
(b) Whose disappearance indicates a credible threat of 237
immediate danger or serious bodily harm to himself or herself, as 238
determined by the local law enforcement agency; and 239
(c) Who most likely cannot be returned to safety 240
without law enforcement intervention. 241
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ST: Gold Alert; create a statewide alert for
persons 18 to 23 years of age.
(4) If a Purple Alert is determined to be necessary and 242
appropriate, the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction 243
must notify the media and persons who have subscribed to receive 244
alert notifications in the jurisdiction or jurisdictions where the 245
missing person may be located. The law enforcement agency also 246
must report the person missing to the Mississippi Bureau of 247
Investigation of the Department of Public Safety. 248
(5) The Purple Alert system must include procedures to 249
monitor the use, activation and results of alerts and a strategy 250
for informing and educating law enforcement, the media and other 251
stakeholders concerning the alert. 252
(6) A local law enforcement agency may activate a Purple 253
Alert notwithstanding the existence of an active Silver Alert, 254
Gold Alert or Amber Alert for the same missing person if the 255
agency determines that a Purple Alert may improve the chances of 256
finding the person. 257
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 258
and after July 1, 2026. 259