Bill establishing Kasey Alert sent to governor’s desk

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Cody Rogers, R-Tulsa, received unanimous approval in the Senate Monday for a bill that establishes a notification system for missing persons that are not covered by Amber or Silver Alerts. House Bill 1077 establishes the Kasey Alert system, and is named for Kasey Russell, a 29-year-old Cherokee Nation Citizen who went missing in 2016. The bill has now been sent to the governor for final consideration.

“This bill is named for a young man who disappeared while walking home from a casino, and he sadly never made it home,” Rogers said. “There was no investigation into his disappearance, until his body was found. I appreciate my colleagues for supporting this measure as it will increase cooperation between agencies and speed up investigations for missing persons between the ages of 18 and 59. If this legislation is signed into law, Kasey Alerts could begin going out in November.”

Rep. Ken Luttrell, R-Ponca City, is the House principal author of the bill.

“House Bill 1077 is the result of four years of hard work behind the scenes, and I'm thankful to see it move to the governor's desk,” Luttrell said. “I hope that this new policy will increase communication between law enforcement agencies when someone goes missing to coordinate efforts or information and hopefully find and return them to their loved ones more quickly. I want to thank Senator Cody Rogers for his work to pass this bill in the Senate, as well as Representatives Daniel Pae and Mickey Dollens who worked with me on the legislation.”

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Rogers: (405) 521-5600 or Cody.Rogers@oksenate.gov