Washington's Missing Indigenous Person Alert System: How It Works

A 15-year-old boy last seen off E 8th Ave in Spokane Valley nearly a week ago is now the subject of a statewide search after authorities issued a Missing Indigenous Person Alert on his behalf. Mason Pack-Laudermilk was last seen around 9:25 p.m. on November 7, wearing a blue, gray and black Gonzaga hoodie, gray sweatpants and black slides, and investigators say he may have been heading toward Longview.

The alert was activated by the Washington State Patrol on behalf of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, according to a post from Washington State Patrol on Facebook. The agency describes Pack-Laudermilk as 5 feet 4 inches tall and about 105 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. The case has been assigned number 2026-10159153, and anyone with information is asked to call the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office nonemergency line at 509-456-2233, or dial 911 immediately if he is spotted.

The post notes that it is not actively monitored, so tips should go through official channels rather than social media comments. WSP says the completed alert request was received on Friday, nearly a week after Pack-Laudermilk was last seen, though no further details about the circumstances of his disappearance have been released.

How Washington's Alert System Works Washington was the first state in the nation to create an alert system specifically for missing Indigenous people, a distinction noted more than two years before a 2024 review of the program by OPB. The program exists because Native Americans make up nearly 2% of Washington's population but account for nearly 6% of its missing-person cases, per the same report.

Washington began using the Missing Indigenous Person Alert system in July 2022, according to Cascade PBS. By the end of August 2024, OPB reported that WSP had issued 114 such alerts, with subjects located in all but 13 cases.

Early Results Showed Promise In the program's first six months, 22 of 31 missing people were found alive, according to Cascade PBS. That early accounting also found that one person was located dead and eight remained missing at the time. A WSP alert coordinator told the outlet that at least four of those 22 recoveries were the direct result of a MIPA alert reaching the public.

Washington State Patrol has said there is no waiting period to report a missing person in the state, urging families to call 911 right away rather than delay.

Washington's Missing Indigenous Person Alert System: How It Works

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