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House approves 'Emily Pike' alert expansion to cover missing Indigenous people and others
Summary
Lawmakers unanimously backed a package creating new alert categories — turquoise (for Indigenous missing persons), silver, and amber enhancements — and named the expansion the 'Emily Pike law' after a missing child whose case highlighted gaps in alerting.
The House on Wednesday gave final passage to House Bill 2,281, a measure expanding the state’s alert system to include additional categories and response protocols for missing or endangered people, including a new turquoise alert aimed at missing Indigenous persons.
Sponsor Representative Martinez said the changes were informed by cases that exposed gaps in the current alert system, noting the case of Emily Pike — a child who went missing and was later found murdered — and said that “if this law had been in place, an alert would have gone out to look for this little girl.” Martinez asked colleagues to refer to the package as the “Emily Pike law.”
Support was broad and bipartisan in the transcript. Representative Garcia thanked sponsor Martinez and tribal and task-force partners, saying the expansion “makes our communities that much safer.” Representative Sosie described the measure as “only one step” in broader work to address the disproportionate incidence of missing Indigenous people and said the legislature should continue efforts to prevent and respond to those cases.
Action taken: The bill passed final passage by recorded vote, 57 ayes, 0 nays and 3 not voting, and the clerk recorded the vote; the bill will be sent to the governor.
Why it matters: Advocates and some lawmakers said expanded alert categories and clearer protocols are a practical step to help find missing people sooner, especially in communities historically underserved by existing alert and search systems.
Ending: Sponsors said the law is a starting point; lawmakers urged continued work with tribal nations, law enforcement and communities to improve search, reporting and response systems going forward.
