As many as 400 senior citizens suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease go missing each year in New Jersey, and with more than 160,000 senior citizens calling Ocean County home, a new program to locate missing seniors is especially important, Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford said. 

That is why county officials, legislators and caregiver representatives gathered at the Ocean County Administration building Monday to raise awareness about the importance of the newly implemented Silver Alert system.

Under a state law adopted December 2009, the state attorney general established the system to provide the rapid dissemination of information regarding a missing person who is believed to be suffering from dementia or other cognitive impairment, Ford said. It is much like the Amber Alert system for missing children.

“The more eyes and ears you have aware of a missing person, the better,” Ford said. Read full story in APP.