The legislation calls for the creation of law enforcement liaisons who provide timely updates on cases, including whether there’ve been changes in investigators.
SAN ANTONIO — A new legislative push aims to improve the relationship between families of missing persons and law enforcement.
Pamela Allen, head of Eagles Flight Advocacy and Outreach, has been a prominent advocate for families of missing loved ones for years. The disappearance of Lina Sardar Khil three years ago ended up being the final impetus for Allen to move forward with brainstorming legislation to create positive change.
Lina disappeared from a northwest-side apartment complex on Dec. 20, 2021. If alive, she would be 6 years old today.
“These families are in darkness,” Allen said. “When we were experiencing so much frustration with SAPD and their lack of communication, Lina’s father just said, ‘I’m done, I don’t want to do this anymore.'”
It’s that perceived gap in communication that prompted Allen to join other families of missing persons, including the loved ones of Gabriel Johnson, Jason Landry and Patty Vaughan. Together, they’re drafting a bill with the support of lawmakers that would regulate police so they keep in touch more often in such cases.
“(It calls for) assigning an advocate, assigning a liaison who would be able to contact the families and speak to them every other week in a timely manner, even if there are no updates,” Allen said.
The legislation would also call for the law enforcement liaison to update families in the event changes are made in who’s investigating missing persons cases.
“For instance, in a case that’s been spanned over 20 years, there’s been at least five investigators with the families never being told that’s this has happened,” Allen said.
There’s also a push for local law enforcement to actively seek out the assistance of state agencies that may have greater resources dedicated toward missing persons, including the Texas Attorney General’s Office, which has a cold case and missing persons unit.
“When we went to some of our legislators about this, they said they would be happy to carry this to Austin,” Allen said. “We’re excited about the outcome.”
Texas lawmakers reconvene in Austin for the 89th Regular Legislative Session on Jan. 14.