The Corey Adams Searchlight Act is a new law being discussed in Madison and if passed it would begin a "Green Alert" system that would notify the public when a missing at-risk veteran goes missing.
There was a committee hearing Thursday morning and this is all in honor of Milwaukee veteran Corey Adams who suffered from PTSD. He was found dead in a pond after he was missing for 18 days.
Adams' family and state representatives said passing this proposal would be a no-brainer. They say it will help fill a gap in a system that's not perfect.
The bill was first introduced in October.
"No other family should experience what my family has," said Carmen Adams, Corey’s younger sister.
She testified in front of state lawmakers demanding for this bill to be passed.
"Can you imagine the hurt and anger we experienced on that day," Carmen said.
Her older brother Corey was an Air Force veteran who completed three tours. They say after his last tour he began to isolate himself from the family. He was later diagnosed with PTSD and bipolar disorder.
"It's a deep pain in this country," said Rep. Joel M. Kleefisch.
In March he unexpectedly went missing. Despite Adam’s family filing a missing person's report it took eight days before he was determined to meet critical criteria by Milwaukee police.
To reach the critical criteria, someone has to be missing at least a week.
For days family and friends searched all over looking for Corey before his body was discovered.
"My heart is broken; it's a piece of me that's gone that'll never come back," said his mother Gwendolyn Adams.
Now the Adam’s family wants to make sure no other Wisconsin family has to go through this.
"My brother’s death was not in vain," Carmen said.
Similar to the amber and silver alert systems, green alerts would provide urgent search efforts for missing at-risk veterans.
"It's something that needs to be done and I have no doubt that it will pass," Carmen said.
If it passes they family plans to go to Washington D.C. to propose Green Alerts at a national level.
Kleefisch believes this bill will pass and will be on the governor's desk within a month.
If you or someone you know is a veteran suffering from one of these disorders and needs help you can visit the VA's National Center for PTSD website.
