Members of House and Senate chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly overwhelmingly approved passage of the Holly Bobo Act on March 9.
State Rep. Kirk Haston, R-Lobelville, and State Sen. Delores Gresham, R-Somerville sponsored the act, House Bill 2308/Senate Bill 2464, which expands Tennessee’s endangered alert system to include missing or endangered young adults under 21.
The legislation honors the memory of 20-year-old nursing student Holly Bobo who was abducted from her home in Decatur County in 2011. The young woman’s remains were found three years later.
“It’s difficult to imagine the hopelessness a family goes through when a loved one goes missing. Every moment is critical,” Haston said. “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 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.
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.
