(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Representative Sue Myrick (NC-09) today announced the passage of Kristen’s Act, a bill that creates a national database to search for missing adults.  The bill passed by a voice vote in the House yesterday evening.

Kristen’s Act was originally signed into law in 2000.  The bill passed in the House today will reauthorize funding so the program can remain operational for the next 10 years.  It has been sent to the Senate for further consideration.

“No family should ever be told that resources are not available to help find their loved ones,” said Rep. Myrick.  “Since it was first passed, Kristen’s Act has helped countless families find the family members and the answers that they were looking for.  I am so glad that this bill has been reauthorized, along with other bills to help find adults, so that these resources will continue to be available.”

Kristen’s Act was passed in conjunction with the reauthorization of The Silver Act, a bill that sets up a communication system to help locate missing senior citizens.  The bill also passed in the House in September 2008, but was not voted on in the Senate before the end of the 110th Congress.
 
The bill is named for Kristen Modafferi, an 18 year old Charlotte resident who vanished in June 1997.  The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children could not help her family search for Kristen because she was 18, and thus considered an adult.  Rep. Myrick took up the cause championed by Kristen’s family, and hundreds of other families in similar situations, and introduced Kristen’s Act.

The reauthorization of Kristen’s Act will allow the Attorney General to make grants to public agencies, or nonprofit private organizations, to maintain a national resource center and information clearing house for missing and unidentified adults. It will also provide training to law enforcement agencies, state and local governments, and nonprofit organizations.