MILWAUKEE – On October 25th, 2023, five-year-old Prince McCree stayed home from school because he was sick. Prince’s mother could not find him later that day and proceeded to call the authorities to report him missing. Milwaukee Police requested an Amber Alert; however, the request was denied. The next day, Prince’s body was discovered.
On April 24th, 2022, 10-year-old Iliana “Lily” Peters went to visit her aunt’s house, located nearly a quarter of a mile away from her home. Lily’s father later reported that she was missing at 9 p.m. after Lily had not returned home. At the time of her disappearance, the Chippewa Falls Police Department reported Lily’s case had not met the criteria for an Amber Alert. The next morning, Lily’s body was discovered.
In response to these two incidents, lawmakers have made a push for expanding criteria to cover children who do not qualify for an Amber Alert. Today, that push received the seal of approval from Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.
“In moments like these, when loved ones and communities are gripped by worry and fear and every moment is vital to locate a missing child, every resource should be made available to bring that kid home,” said Evers Tuesday at Hawley Environmental School in Milwaukee. “For five-year-old Prince McCree’s family in Milwaukee last year and 10-year-old Lily Peters’ family in Chippewa Falls in 2022, heartbreakingly, this was not the case. In these tragic cases, circumstances around Prince and Lily’s disappearances were considered to not have met the threshold statutorily to issue an Amber Alert. But today, thanks to the important advocacy and determination of many, I am proud to sign Senate Bill 981—the Prince Act—to help ensure similar situations never occur again.”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: PRINCE Act for missing children passes in state legislature
Under Wisconsin Act 272 the Silver Alert system would be expanded to apply to certain children. An alert could be issued if the person is under the age of 18, their location is unknown, they do not otherwise qualify for another alert, and they are unable to return home without help because of a physical or mental condition, disability, or age (for example, that they are under 10 years old).
State Senator LaTonya Johnson (D – Milwaukee) was a neighbor to Prince McCree at the time of his disappearance and played a key role in the act’s implementation. “We were cognitive of making sure that this alert applied to children ten and under, and then for children 18 and under for children with physical or cognitive disabilities that would prevent them from returning home safely,” Johnson tells WTMJ. “One of my priorities as ranking member on joint finance is next session to ask for additional money…the alert system is pretty much automatic for children under the age of ten, but we all know that children go missing of all ages. So making sure that we have something in place to fufill those additional gaps for children ten and older is extremely, extremely important. Which is why we’ll be asking for additional funding to make sure that we can cover those children as well.”
Johnson said they are tentatively naming the new alert the “Purple Alert” which he credited to the song “Purple Rain” by the late pop star Prince.
McCree’s parents Darron McCree and Marie Stillo were also present for the signing. “Any child that could be saved, SHOULD be saved,” said Darron Tuesday. “No other kid out here should have to meet criteria and wait so long just for them to get looked for,” added Marie.
What remains to be seen is how the new act will be rolled out by law enforcement, and if there is any wiggle room in the interpretation of which physical or mental conditions would qualify a child for the alert.
16-year-old Erik Mendoza and 27-year-old David Pietura have both been charged in connection to McCree’s death. A preliminary hearing in March determined that despite his age, Mendoza would be charged as an adult given the serious nature of the alleged crime.
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