Family of Delta senior design petition for Silver Alert improvements

Summary

A Delta family want to do more to help others when family members go missing

Jarnail Sanghera's body was discovered Sunday in Delta after he had been missing for the last nine days

The family has created a change.org petition calling for more support for B.C.'s Silver Alert system

DELTA (NEWS 1130) — The family of a man whose body was discovered in Delta Sunday wants to make sure no other families have to suffer the kind of panic and pain they did.

Jarnail Sanghera was found after wandering away from his home nine days earlier.

The family has a petition up at Change.org calling for more support for BC’s Silver Alert system.

“We are asking for your support to help create an alert system for individuals with dementia and other cognitive issues who go missing,” the petition reads.

“Our grandfather with dementia went missing and he was found deceased 9 days later. We want to prevent this from happening to any other family. BC Silver Alert has been attempting to do this but they need more support.”

The family, who had canvassed both Delta and Surrey to find their grandfather, would like to see a text alert sent out to community members when there’s a missing senior to report.

The petition will be sent to the Minister of Public Health and Safety of BC.

As of Monday night, over 2,900 had signed it.

Delta Police is aware of the “number of questions posed about how police conduct a search of this scale, and how they prioritize resources.”

“Simply put, police devote resources to work off the last confirmed sighting, and this must be a systematic process, so that efforts can be best prioritized,” a release reads.

The Delta PD added it would like to highlight the importance of video footage in this type of search.

“If you have a property in Delta with CCTV cameras, please consider registering for our Community Watch Program. This helps save police time, and provides a contact person and phone number that police can call to request video footage,” Cris Leykauf, spokesperson for Delta police says.

According the release Leykauf recommends “families with loved ones experiencing dementia or Alzheimer’s consider registering with a program such as Project Lifesaver, endorsed by South Fraser Search and Rescue, or using GPS trackers to help monitor their loved ones, if they are prone to wandering.”