Florida Spectrum Alert: New missing child system for kids with autism launches July 1

Starting July 1, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will launch a new missing persons alert specifically for missing children with autism.

The new alert, Florida Spectrum Alert, will be used to quickly mobilize the community to locate and recover missing children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the FDLE announced on June 24.  

What is a Spectrum Alert? 

The FDLE's Missing Persons and Offender Enforcement Division (MPOE) will launch an alert specifically for missing children with autism. 

The Florida Spectrum Alert was established in 2025 and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

According to the FDLE, children with autism spectrum disorder are prone to wander or elope from safe environments at a much higher rate than their non-autistic peers – with incidents often leading to fatal traffic accidents and drownings.

Additionally, children with ASD are often drawn to bodies of water, which poses a unique risk in Florida due to the prevalence of water in the environment, the FDLE said. The Autism Society of Florida reported that drowning is the highest cause of death in autism. Children with ASD are 160 times more likely to experience a drowning than their neurotypical peers, the Autism Society of Florida reported. 

The Spectrum Alert was created to quickly mobilize the community in locating and ensuring the safe recovery of missing children with autism. 

"When our FDLE inspectors, agents and analysts work with law enforcement on missing persons cases, we know that time is of the essence," FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said in a news release. "The Spectrum Alert is another resource for the community that helps agencies get information to the public faster and bring Florida’s most innocent and vulnerable home safely. FDLE remains steadfast in our mission in protecting Florida’s children."

When to activate a Spectrum Alert

The FDLE provided a five-step list of requirements for activating a Spectrum Alert, including: 

• The child must be under 18 years of age.
• The law enforcement agency of jurisdiction must reasonably believe that the child has ASD.
• The law enforcement agency of jurisdiction must have a well-founded belief, based on an active investigation, that the child is in danger of death or serious bodily injury.
• There must be a detailed description and/or a photograph of the child to broadcast to the public.
• The law enforcement agency of jurisdiction must recommend activation.

When to activate an Enhanced Spectrum Alert

A key difference between Spectrum Alerts and Enhanced Spectrum Alerts is the level of danger the child is believed to be in. An Enhanced Spectrum Alert can be activated when the child is believed to be in imminent danger. 

An Enhanced Spectrum Alert will send a wireless emergency alert out to a defined geographical area, typically in the neighborhood or community where the child was last seen, the FDLE said. 

The FDLE provided a five-step list of requirements for activating an Enhanced Spectrum Alert, including: 

• The child must be under 18 years of age.
• The law enforcement agency of jurisdiction must reasonably believe that the child has autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• The law enforcement agency of jurisdiction must have a well-founded belief, based on an active investigation, that the child is in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.
• There must be a detailed description and/or a photograph of the child to broadcast to the public.
• The law enforcement agency of jurisdiction must recommend activation.

How to sign up for Spectrum Alerts

What you can do:

To sign up for Spectrum Alerts by text or email, visit the FDLE's website for Alert Notification Registration. 

Citizens are asked to call 911 if they have information relating to the whereabouts of the missing child.

What's next:

The Florida Spectrum Alert goes into effect on July 1.