New Law In Kansas

A new law took effect in Kansas on Monday of this week. The Kelsey Smith act, named for the daughter of Senator Greg Smith, of Overland Park, Kansas, was passed in 2009, and took effect this week. Kelsey disappeared in 2007, after shopping. She was an adult at the time, but had no history of disappearing for days at a time, and after a massive search, she was found in neighboring Johnson County, Kansas. She had been murdered.

The Kelsey Smith Act rules that law enforcement must search for any person in Kansas who is reported missing, no matter the person's age. The police cannot simply dismiss the disappearance of a teenager as a "runaway" situation and forget about it. Police were very helpful to Smith during the four days it took to find his daughter, but Smith noted that helpfulness and kindness from law enforcement during a missing persons case isn't always standard protocol in Kansas. Colton Berrera disappeared in 2008, at the age of seventeen, and was dismissed as a runaway. No one besides his close friends and family have taken a true interest in finding him. Adam Herrman is also missing; he disappeared from his foster/adoptive home in 1999, and no one reported him missing until 2009! The thought of following him up or asking about him never occurred to child protective services. And now no one can find him.

Hopefully, the Kelsey Smith Act will make a difference in cases like this. After watching progress made as a result of this law, it can hopefully become a national law instead of a Kansas law.