More than a dozen Silver Alerts have been issued in Wisconsin since early April.
The latest being an 80-year-old man reported missing Wednesday in Oneida County, which was canceled within an hour of the alert being issued.
According to the Department of Justice, who leads the Silver Alert efforts in the state, there's a reason more of them are happening now.
"There are some seasonal trends to Silver Alerts, when the weather gets nicer, people are out more. So we do see more Silver Alerts, that's probably part of what we're seeing," said Attorney General Josh Kaul.
So what exactly makes a Silver Alert what it is?
"We want to make sure the policies are applied consistently and that Silver Alerts are being issued in very specific circumstances," Kaul said.
The missing person must be 60 years old, believed to have some type of cognitive impairment, like dementia or Alzheimer's, and their disappearance must also be tied to their condition.
Plus, requests have to be made within 72 hours of their disappearance and have information that could easily identify them.
All five criteria must be in effect to issue an alert.
"The instances we're seeing are ones where we can make a difference and help get somebody home safe," Kaul said.
But if you feel like a loved one may be at risk of going missing, one thing you can do is communicate with them regularly.
"The more that you're involved in people's lives, the more likely it is you'll be able to intervene before somebody could potentially go missing," Kaul said.
If a loved one goes missing, you should call 911. You'll be asked to give information that could help locate that person.
A Silver Alert is only issued after law enforcement sends that information to the Department of Justice, who checks to see if the required guidelines are met.
