Create a "MO Alert" for Missing & Endangered Vulnerable Adults in Alabama - “MEVA”

In Memory of Glen “Mo” Spence 

When a child goes missing in Alabama under qualifying circumstances, an AMBER Alert can reach people’s phones and immediately turn an entire community into a search team.

But what happens when the missing person is an elderly adult, a person living with dementia or Alzheimer’s, an autistic adult, or another vulnerable person whose disability or condition places them at serious risk?

Their lives are just as valuable.

Their families deserve the same sense of urgency.

And the public deserves the opportunity to help.

We are asking Alabama to create a “MO Alert” a statewide emergency wireless alert specifically designed to rapidly notify the public when a vulnerable adult goes missing and is believed to be in danger.

Why this matters

Alabama already recognizes the need for a Missing and Endangered Person Alert. The state’s current system includes people who are missing and living with a mental or physical disability, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or autism and who are believed to be at risk of bodily harm or death.

However, these alerts are currently distributed through an opt-in notification system rather than through the same Wireless Emergency Alert system used for AMBER Alerts.

That difference matters.

A family searching for a loved one should not have to hope that enough people have subscribed to a notification service.

A caregiver should not have to hope that a Facebook post is shared far enough.

A police department should not have to depend solely on social media and online searches to reach the public.

When minutes matter, the alert needs to reach people where they are, on their phones.

Glen “Mo” Spence

This petition is being created in memory of Glen “Mo” Spence, a 67-year-old Alabama man who went missing from Alabaster.

His disappearance showed our community just how quickly a missing vulnerable adult can become a life-threatening emergency.

Families should not have to experience this nightmare before meaningful change happens.

We want Mo’s story to become a catalyst for something that could help protect countless other families.

What we are asking for

We are asking Alabama lawmakers, public safety officials, and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to establish a MO Alert or comparable statewide emergency notification system that:

• Provides rapid wireless emergency notifications to nearby residents when a qualifying vulnerable adult goes missing.

• Includes elderly adults and people living with dementia, Alzheimer’s, autism, intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, or other conditions that may make them especially vulnerable when missing.

• Allows law enforcement to activate the alert when established emergency criteria are met.

• Uses geographic targeting when appropriate so people in the surrounding area receive the information immediately.

• Includes a photograph, description, last known location, vehicle information when available, and instructions for reporting sightings.

• Works alongside Alabama’s existing Missing and Endangered Person Alert system rather than replacing the existing protections.

This is not about giving every missing-person case an emergency alert.

We understand that emergency alert systems must have reasonable criteria.

The goal is not to overwhelm people’s phones with notifications.

The goal is to make sure that when law enforcement determines a vulnerable missing person is in immediate danger, the public has the opportunity to become part of the search immediately.

A phone alert can reach someone who is driving down the road.

Someone working at a gas station.

Someone shopping at Walmart.

Someone getting off work.

Someone who never saw the Facebook post.

Someone who may recognize a face, vehicle, walking stick, clothing, or location and make the call that brings a loved one home.

For Mo. For our families. For the next person.

We cannot change what happened to Glen “Mo” Spence.

But we can decide what we do with what happened.

Let his disappearance be the reason Alabama strengthens its emergency notification system for vulnerable adults.

Let the next family have more eyes searching.

Let the next missing vulnerable adult have more people looking.

Sign this petition to support the creation of a MO Alert (MEVA) in Alabama. An emergency wireless alert for missing and endangered vulnerable adults.

For Mo.
For every family waiting at home.