WASHINGTON — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill Thursday for a program that would send out an alert notification for missing adults.
The law goes into effect July 1.
The program is officially called the “Critically Missing Adult Alert,” but will be known as the Ashanti Alert, named after 19-year-old Ashanti Billie who was found murdered in Charlotte, North Carolina, last year.
Ashanti Alert will send out a notice for “critically missing adults” who are believed to be abducted or in danger. The program will help adults between 18 and 60 who are too old for an AMBER Alert but too young for a Silver Alert.
The bill was sponsored by Jerrauld “Jay” Jones, a democrat in the Virginia House. The bill was unanimously passed by the Virginia House and Senate before Gov. Northam signed it into law.
WTOP’s Melissa Howell contributed to this report.
