Overview

• State Rep. Robert Leadbeter announced he will introduce Aiden’s Law to create a Purple Alert for missing individuals with cognitive, intellectual or developmental disabilities.
• Leadbeter has not yet filed the bill but said he expects to do so soon, after which it would be referred to a House committee.
• The proposed alert would notify both police and the public, addressing limits of AMBER Alerts that require abduction and advisories that do not trigger phone pings or highway signs.
• The effort follows the search for 7-year-old Aiden Ha, a nonverbal child with autism who walked away from home and was found dead in the Susquehanna River about a day later.
• Local advocacy accelerated the push, including a Facebook campaign that drew hundreds of shares and a family GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.