Despite the fact that Florida’s “Silver Alert” System is just three months old, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is calling it a success. The Silver Alert is similar to the Amber Alert for children: it allows law enforcement to immediately put out information on anyone over the age of 60, missing and suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia. Highway signs go up and phone calls are made to anyone living near the location of where the person was last seen.

Before an alert is issued, authorities first must contact local or regional news media, conclude disappearances pose a credible threat to safety and verify vehicle descriptions and tag numbers. Since early October when the Silver Alert system was activated, 29 alerts have been issued and the system is credited with finding six of those missing seniors.

In states with a large senior citizen population, like Florida, there is often a correspondingly large number of Alzheimer's sufferers. In fact, there are nearly half a million people with Alzheimer's disease living in Florida today. The Alzheimer's Association estimates that 95 percent of the elderly people who go missing are found within a quarter mile from their home.

"Certainly our law enforcement agencies are using this across the state. We now have a standardized statewide plan. We know that our public is paying attention to those message signs and that's what's most important here. When you have a missing person situation time is of the essence and we want to get that information out and get it out quickly," said Heather Smith from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.