YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Last year, there were six endangered missing adults alerts in the area.

Trumbull County issued four and Mahoning County issued two. Columbiana County had none.

Most alerts were issued out of Cuyahoga and Franklin counties. In 2022, 146 missing adult alerts were issued based on requests from law enforcement agencies in 38 Ohio counties and two nearby states, West Virginia and New York.

The Endangered Missing Adult System allows law enforcement to let the public and other agencies know that an at-risk elderly person is missing.

The alert is distributed to law enforcement, and members of the public and media who have subscribed to receive alerts will get the notices, too.

May is Older Americans Month, which is why Ohio Attorney General David Yost is reiterating the need for the alerts and how helpful they are in finding missing endangered adults.

“A lot of Ohioans are probably familiar with the AMBER Alert system – which is used for endangered or abducted children, but far fewer may know that there’s a similar program to help locate older adults who are reported missing,” Yost said.

In all but one instance of alerts issued in 2022, the missing adult was found. Thomas Mills, 72, who was reported missing Dec. 6 out of Clermont County has not been found. Mills is on the autism spectrum. The case remains under investigation.