Senator marks anniversary of Emily Pike's discovery, urges changes to 'Turquoise Alert' criteria
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Summary
A senator asked the Senate for a moment of silence on Feb. 12, 2026 to mark the one‑year anniversary since 14‑year‑old Emily Pike was found; the senator urged amendments to the Turquoise Alert and referenced 'Emily's Law' to broaden qualifying criteria for missing children.
A senator on the Senate floor on Feb. 12, 2026 asked colleagues for a moment of silence to mark the upcoming one‑year anniversary of the discovery of 14‑year‑old Emily Pike, a San Carlos Apache Reservation resident, and urged the Legislature to amend the state's Turquoise Alert criteria.
On the floor the senator said Emily Pike "was found in trash bags thrown off next to the road near Globe, Arizona," described the missing and murdered Indigenous peoples crisis and said that available documentation and data are lacking. The senator urged colleagues "to continue to work to amend these laws" and said that under current Turquoise Alert rules Pike "would have never qualified for that," referencing local efforts called "Emily's Law" to change qualifying criteria for alerts for missing children.
The senator asked the body to remember Pike and expressed continued condolences to her family. The floor exchange did not include a formal motion or bill text on the record; the remarks were offered as a personal privilege and a request for a moment of silence.
Context and details from the floor: the speaker said Pike went missing on Jan. 27 and was found on Feb. 14 (dates as stated on the floor). The speaker pressed for statutory changes that would broaden eligibility for a Turquoise Alert and to better define runaway status for children so that cases like Pike's would qualify for immediate public alerting.
No committee referral or bill language for an 'Emily's Law' appeared in the floor transcript during this session. The speaker's request was a floor appeal for continued legislative attention and advocacy; staff and sponsors would need to file text or a bill to change alert criteria. The Senate observed a moment of silence at the speaker's request.
What happens next: The floor remarks call for follow‑up in the Legislature — either through sponsor introduction of statutory language or committee work to adjust eligibility for the Turquoise Alert. The transcript does not record any formal referral or legislative motion tied to the speaker's request.