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Lawmakers, advocates praise reforms to Ashanti Alert deployment process

Recent adjustments were made as a result of Marie Covington's missing person case in Virginia Beach, a letter addressed to U.S. Senator Mark Warner stated in part.

NORFOLK, Va. — Lawmakers and advocates alike praise efforts to reform how we are alerted about critically missing adults. 

The Ashanti Alert system is activated when law enforcement believes missing people, between the ages of 18 and 64, are endangered.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) has long been a supporter of the program. 

"The Ashanti Alert system was put in place about five years ago, and I was proud to lead the effort at the national level to make it national law," he said.

The alert is named after Ashanti Billie, a 19-year-old who was abducted in Norfolk in 2017. At the time, she didn't fit the age groups for an Amber or Silver alert. 

RELATED | Family of Ashanti Billie to mark 4th anniversary of her disappearance with a call to action

A landscaping worker in Charlotte discovered Billie's body, 11 days after she was first reported missing. 

"Ashanti Billie was a beautiful young lady. Her parents are beautiful and strong. They are crazy committed people who believe their daughter's life was not lost in vain, that her life will save other lives," said Del. Don Scott (D- Portsmouth), who is also a lawyer representing the Billie family. 

RELATED | Warner urges Youngkin to assess Ashanti Alert criteria, following Virginia Beach missing persons case

In December, Sen. Warner filed a query centering around the deployment of Ashanti Alerts to the office of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-Virginia). 

Warner asked, in part, about whether Ashanti Alert policies changed following a delay in the case of Virginia Beach mother Marie Covington.

Her daughter reported her missing to Beach police on Aug. 18. Law enforcement issued an Ashanti Alert two days later and a couple of hours before her body was found in Norfolk. 

A February letter penned by Virginia's secretary of public safety and homeland security, Bob Mosier, partly said Virginia State Police will "proactively contact the reporting agency once a missing person report is received" in the future.

And as a result of the Covington case, state police modified some parts of the activation form local police have to fill out. "To clarify the request for the date and the time the report was taken, as well as additional clarifying questions regarding the intent to issue the alert," the letter stated.

Those are changes Scott said he believes will make the program more effective. 

"We just want to continue to see the way we communicate with law enforcement and when we communicate with the community, that we know people are moving out in a uniform way, that the public can have confidence," he said. 

Back in December and following an internal review, Virginia Beach police admitted two officers failed to meet department standards and expectations in connection to the Covington case.

A spokeswoman noted, however, "all evidence points to Ms. Covington’s murder happening before the VPBD were notified."

Still, the officers underwent retraining and Chief Paul Neudigate formed a process improvement team.

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