NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Members of the Tennessee House and Senate unanimously approved the Holly Bobo Act, which expands Tennessee’s endangered alert system to include missing or endangered young adults under 21.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Kirk Haston, R-Lobelville, and Sen. Delores Gresham, R-Somerville, honors the memory of 20-year-old nursing student Holly Bobo, who was abducted from her home in Decatur County in 2011. Her remains were found three years later.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s current program issues alerts for missing or endangered children under 18 and also features a senior citizen alert program. The Holly Bobo Act makes the TBI’s endangered alert system part of Tennessee Code.
“It’s difficult to imagine the hopelessness a family goes through when a loved one goes missing. Every moment is critical,” Haston said in a news release. “I’m grateful to members of the General Assembly for their strong support of the Holly Bobo Act. This law could make all the difference in saving a young person’s life and bringing them home.”
The Holly Bobo Act does not change the activation criteria for AMBER Alerts, which is a federally funded program. Law enforcement reserves AMBER Alerts for the most serious of missing child cases when authorities believe a child is in imminent danger. AMBER Alerts only may only be applied to children under 18 years old.