NORWICH – On Christmas Day a 73 year old Norwich man who suffers from dementia symptoms went missing while operating his 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser. Norwich Police officers entered the man’s name and vehicle information into the police broadcast system that would alert police officers on patrol in the happenstance they came across the vehicle. This method of locating a missing person is the same that has been used in police work for decades. The Norwich Police did not stop there. With technology available to law enforcement today, the police can enlist the assistance of thousands more people to aid in the search.

Shortly after the report of the missing person report, police officers contacted the New York State Missing Person Clearinghouse, a part of the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services. Personnel at the Clearinghouse took the information from the Norwich Police and created a “NY ALERT” message. The information from the Norwich Police was sent to citizen-subscriber cellular phones via text message, others received the information from an e-mail and the information was also posted on NYS Department of Transportation road side message signs.

On December 26, 2013 at approximately 5:00pm a motorist from Spencerport, NY was traveling on Interstate 81 in Broome County. This motorist had seen at least two of the NY ALERT message signs asking for travelers to watch for a 2006 black Chrysler PT Cruiser along with the vehicle’s plate number. While in the Binghamton, New York vicinity, the motorist spotted the PT Cruiser. He called Broome Co. 9-1-1 and the dispatchers broadcast the information to patrol car radios. Soon thereafter, a New York State Trooper from the Kirkwood Barracks found the PT Cruiser and was able to stop the car and get the missing man to safety.