On Sept. 10, law enforcement agencies began a missing persons hunt for an 83-year-old Issaquah man who had disappeared from his home the previous morning.

Bryant Merrick had moved to Providence Point from Everett only weeks before. He suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and Issaquah police noted he was unfamiliar with his new hometown in their alert.

Merrick was found safe by Seattle police in the north end of the city early on Sept. 11. The search ended in fewer than 24 hours, quietly and quickly, but marked a historic turning point in Washington state’s law enforcement protocols.

The Merrick case marked the first use in Washington state of the Silver Alert protocol, a system similar to Amber Alert, but targeted for persons over 60 with some form of dementia. The Silver Alert program was enacted on Aug. 27.

Under the Silver Alert, Merrick’s identifying information, car description and license plate number were broadcast across three counties on the state Department of Transportation’s digital billboards and through highway advisory radio broadcasts. Unlike an Amber Alert, Merrick’s information was not publicized through the emergency broadcast system.

Issaquah police and other local agencies received several calls from bystanders whom had seen the alert, which helped police locate Merrick, Issaquah Det. Laura Asbell said shortly after his discovery.

Creating a Silver Alert was not significantly different from the procedure for filing an alert under the Endangered Missing Person Advisory program, as was previously done for missing seniors, Asbell said. However, she added that an Endangered Missing Person alert would not have included Merrick’s information being broadcast on digital billboards.

The first Silver Alert protocol was enacted in Oklahoma in 2006. Since then, 27 states have adopted formal Silver Alert programs, with nine more creating similar programs.

The legislation establishing Washington state’s program, authored by state Rep. Sherry Appleton, passed 88-4 in the House and 43-0 in the Senate during the 2015 first special session.

“This is about compassion, it’s about mercy, it’s about responsibility,” Appleton said.

Silver Alerts join Amber Alerts for children and Blue Alerts for perpetrators of violence against police.

Asbell said the Silver Alert was “absolutely” a success in locating Merrick.

“He was found, he was found safe and he was found and returned home quickly,” she said.