Tuesday marks five years since Sam Noh’s father disappeared in Coquitlam, and now he’s using it as an opportunity to raise awareness about the Silver Alert system.
“We still haven’t received any closure about my father’s whereabouts … it’s like you know I find myself personally going through the stages of grief, going back and forth just because we haven’t had any closure … haven’t been able to find his remains.”
Shin, 64, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, was last seen by his wife leaving one morning for his daily walk.
Sam said he’d like to see the province create a Silver Alert-type program to help find those with Alzheimer’s when they wander away — because he doesn’t want to see other families go through the same devastation.
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“Because there will be many families dealing with Alzheimer’s and wandering and you know I truly believe that we could utilize the tools and technology to quickly spread the word that an Alzheimer’s patient had gone missing and increase the probability of finding them alive … and so that is just my goal, to save future families grief and devastation of what we went through.”
Silver Alert programs are in use in parts of Canada, including Alberta and Manitoba, and in the United States to broadcast information about missing people, especially senior citizens with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Noh said they’ve spoken with Coquitlam MLA Selina Robinson about the Silver Alert system, and she says it’s an important issue, but the government is dealing with other matters at the moment.
The Ministry of Health told Global News in a statement in 2014 that the government is aware of silver-alert programs in other jurisdictions.
More than 1,000 people have signed a petition to urge the government of Canada to implement a nationwide Silver Alert program.
Global News has reached out to the province for comment.
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