Colorado activates new alert system to help find indigenous people this week

Colorado authorities activated the Missing Indigenous Person Alert system this week in an effort to find a missing Lakota man.

Wanbli Vigil’s disappearance Thursday is the first time the system has been activated after it was launched on Dec. 30.

Mr. Vigil, 27, was last seen by his aunt on Dec. 29 as he was leaving their apartment. He was wearing blue jeans and a black jacket with white stripes, according to the missing person’s alert system.

Colorado has had several high-profile cases of missing and murdered American Indians over the past few years and the new system was launched in an effort to curb the crisis. In the U.S., according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, there are currently 782 unsolved missing persons cases involving American Indians.

The system is part of a new Colorado bill, Senate bill 22-150, passed last year that was spearheaded by indigenous activists.

Under the new system, once an Indian is reported missing to law enforcement, police must inform Colorado Bureau of Investigation within eight hours or within two hours for a child.

State and local law enforcement and media outlets are then informed of the missing person. However, unlike an amber alert, the new system will not send out a text message to cell phones concerning the missing person.

Activists have criticized this aspect of the system as well as the slow reaction to Mr. Vigil’s disappearance. Denver law enforcement said that he was reported missing on Sunday, but the alert system was not activated until Tuesday.

Denver police blamed state investigators for the slow response, who then, in turn, blamed Denver police. Both investigative teams claim to have followed procedure.

Colorado is not the only state to enact a similar system. Both California and Washington have similar systems in place to help find American Indians who go missing.