A Chilliwack mother whose daughter went missing in 2021 says the B.C. government and RCMP’s E Division has told her it is working on developing a public assistance alert system for adults.
Alina Durham’s daughter, Shaelene Keeler Bell, went missing in 2021. Her body was found in the Fraser River more than four months later.
Durham said she reached out to Garry Begg, the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, about developing a missing adult alert system and he asked her to send his office a proposal.
“My proposal was that we take the AMBER Alert that’s already in place and we change a wording in it so that it says victim,” Durham said.
“So that would apply to children who are abducted or in imminent danger or an adult who could be abducted or in imminent danger.”
She said she received a response on May 12 asking her to reach out to B.C.’s RCMP missing person’s division and now something is in the works.
“Basically at the end of the day I’d like to see the Canada Alert Ready system used,” Durham added.
Sam Noh, whose father Shin Noh went missing in September 2013 and never returned, has been an advocate for the creation of a ‘Silver Alert’ system that would notify communities to the disappearance of a senior, particularly one with dementia. He co-founded the group, BC Silver Alert.
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However, there has never been any official alert system in place, other than AMBER Alerts, which are for children who are believed to have been abducted.
The BC NDP promised to develop a Silver Alert system when it formed government in 2020, commanding then Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth to oversee its development in his 2020 mandate letter.
However, a system has still not been put in place.
In the letter to Durham, it stated that RCMP’s Missing Persons Centre is “actively working” on the development of a public assistance alert system in the province.
“This initiative is focused on adults or children who go missing and may be vulnerable due to cognitive impairment or other health-related concerns,” the letter stated.
“It’s a major step forward in enhancing our response to these cases, and your support reinforces the importance of this work.”
Durham said she is happy she received a response.
“I would like to see everybody included,” Durham said. “I get tired of the segregating and the making more of what it really is, right?
“You know, at the end of the day, it’s a safety measure and it’s peace of mind for families, like myself, when my daughter went missing.”
She said her daughter, who was 23 years old, had never gone missing before and Durham would have liked an alert to have been issued in that case, especially if the circumstances around the missing person were suspicious or out of character.
“It keeps our community safe, we all work together, it takes a village,” Durham said.
“When I got my letter back, I was very, very happy because we have to start somewhere, and it’s a start. And so if we even start with this alert, right, for adults and seniors and adults with some cognitive issues, it’s start.
“My belief is that once something starts, then it can move forward.”
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