WASHINGTON — In a unanimous vote Wednesday afternoon, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the "Missing and Endangered Persons’ Emergency Alert System Code."
"Today we create a new code in emergency alert systems for television and radio and wireless phones to help find those missing and endangered persons that fall outside the criteria of amber alerts," said FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. "This new capability, the missing and endangered persons alert, or MEP alert code, will sound the alarm when people are missing and endangered, help raise awareness, and support recovery."
Watch: Video from FCC meeting where MEP alert code was passed
Ahead of Wednesday's vote, Rosenworcel said adding the new “MEP” event code to the nation’s Emergency Alert System would help law enforcement agencies to "galvanize public attention to missing and endangered people of all ages who do not qualify for AMBER Alerts, including those who meet the criteria for Ashanti Alerts."
The Ashanti Alert Act, championed by Virginia U.S. Senator Mark Warner, became law nationwide in 2018 after 19-year-old Virginia Beach woman Ashanti Billie was abducted from Norfolk and founded murdered in North Carolina days later in 2017. She was too old for an AMBER Alert and too young for a Senior Alert.
Watch related: CODI Alert, like other missing persons alerts, is voluntary
Warner expressed concern over the slow implementation of the alert in Virginia and across the country. The FCC's action Wednesday would offer the MEP alert code for cases that also fall under the Ashanti Alert criteria.
Rosenworcel said the most powerful testimonies about adding the MEP code came from tribal communities, who see a disproportionate number of missing people from their communities.
Watch related: VSP making changes to Ashanti Alert system
Lavina Willie-Nez with the Navajo Police Department testified at the hearing Wednesday.
"The missing endangered person code will greatly assist the Navajo nation and other tribes where individuals go missing and are in danger," Willie-Nez said. "Each time a native person goes missing, we lose a part of our heritage and culture. It is crucial that we support one another in these efforts."
The MEP alert would go into effect one year after publication in the Federal Register, according to Katie Gorsack with the FCC.
"By creating the MEP code, we are supporting the work already underway for Ashanti Alerts," Gorsack said previously.
