Coverage of tribal natural resources is supported in part by Catena FoundationThe Turquoise Alert was initially touted as a way to swiftly disseminate info about Indigenous peoples who've gone missing across the Grand Canyon State. But the first-ever alert issued in Arizona this week highlighted how lawmakers expanded criteria beyond the framers' intent.
Gov. Katie Hobbs hailed the statewide Turquoise Alert system back in May as a bipartisan way to address this pressing issue in Arizona. She was surrounded by tribal communities that celebrated her enacting "Emily's Law" in honor of a slain 14-year-old San Carlos Apache teen.
"We are here because the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people demands our full attention and collaboration. It demands action and it demands solutions," said Hobbs during a ceremonial signing at the Executive Tower. "The Turquoise Alert will be ready by the end of this summer."
That new system has been in effect since July 1, and its first alert went out for 6-year-old Violet Coultas from Hawaii — who was identified as white with blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen on video surveillance July 12 at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
The state Department of Public Safety issued a Turquoise Alert for her at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23. According to DPS alerts coordinator Kelsey Commisso, the alert was sent out within 24 hours from when the agency was notified by Hawaii police.
"Immediately after that alert went out," said Commisso, "on our end, DPS, our OPCOMM, our dispatch, was receiving multiple calls."
With more than 30 calls logged and counting over the next six hours, Cottonwood police located the missing child at a women's shelter with help from the FBI by 1 a.m. Thursday, July 24.
Authorities said the girl's mother, Sarah Coultas, had fled Hawaii with the 6-year-old. The mother was taken into custody on a felony warrant stemming from a custodial interference investigation.
The FBI Phoenix Field Office told KJZZ the mother is currently jailed in Yavapai County, while the federal agency said Coultas' father arrived in Arizona on Thursday to reunite with his daughter.
While the alert had the intended effect, some expressed confusion about whether the girl had Native identity. Commisso shared that's because the Turquoise Alert had gone through many iterations at the Capitol.
Compare the original draft of the Turquoise Alert bill (left) with the final version (right) that was signed into law
"That initial proposal to have an alert for our Indigenous members of our community, they decided to broaden that scope," she explained. "That was done on the legislative end to include all members of our community."
State lawmakers amended the original bill's criteria for who is covered to include anyone missing under the age of 65 amid suspicious circumstances.
Turquoise Alerts specifically exclude runaways and are supposed to fill a gap between AMBER and Silver Alerts. Still, the state agency expects to issue no more than 30 alerts in any given year.
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