JaRay Wilson's Parents Support Need For Better Alert System

Eleven months and nine days later, Jara and Rodney Wilson continue the search for their daughter, JaRay. While they travel the country passing out information and pictures of their daughter, lawmakers have renewed an effort to improve how law enforcement agencies can respond to run-away and missing persons cases.

JaRay's parents have not given up the search and vow not to until they know what happened to their daughter. The Wilsons say they are encouraged that new tips keep coming in, unfortunately they have not led to JaRay's return.

1/14/2013 Related Story: Search Continues For Weatherford Teen Who Went Missing 3 Months Ago

"She's still missing and she's still out there somewhere," said Jara Wilson, JaRay's mother. "If we give up, everyone will give up too, so we can't give up, we can't let anyone forget that she's still missing and we still want her home."

The Wilsons believe most of the tools are already in place but police need to be more proactive in searching for people who are reported missing. They think too much time passed before JaRay's case was taken seriously.

"If you report somebody missing, they should do everything in their power. If you put it out there and in two hours they're found, you just take it down," explained Wilson. "If you wait two or three weeks and then it's finally, then go, oh maybe there is something going on here. That's a long time and that's what happened to us."

Oklahoma lawmakers renewed their effort to protect children who go missing or run away. Representative Joe Dorman, a Democrat from Rush Springs, said his bill would allow police officers to detain run-aways, interview them, then reunite them with families if it is safe. He said it also would improve communication.

"This legislation only sends out an alert to police officers who voluntarily sign up in a zip code to receive information about a missing child in their area or whatever area they register," said Dorman.

Dorman said he expects the legislation to pass in the upcoming session. Last session, it passed the House unanimously before stalling in the Senate, where lawmakers worried about over publicizing run-away cases. Dorman said he and others have tweaked the language so it is clear that this kind of alert would only go out to law enforcement officers who have signed up for it.

9/24/2013 Related Story: Oklahoma Lawmaker Studies Need For Runaway Alert System