Petition created for ‘Lily Alerts’ after Chippewa Falls girl’s death
The idea is similar to an Amber Alert, to notify the community through their cell phones and other media that a child has been reported missing.
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (WSAW) - The Chippewa Falls community is still mourning the loss of 10-year-old Lily Peters. She was found dead Monday morning. Now, a petition is making the rounds to help prevent future incidents like this from happening.
The petition was started to create what’s called a “Lily Alert.” The idea is similar to an Amber Alert, to notify the community through their cell phones and other media that a child has been reported missing.
A Chippewa Falls man, Eric Henry, started the petition because he saw how much the community wanted to help, but they couldn’t because there was no alert. Henry wants the “Lily Alert” to have less regulations to help get a quicker response about missing children.
“People wanted to help and if you were out and about you wouldn’t have even known what to look for, nobody knew and it’s just heartbreaking. So I’m just trying to help,” Henry said.
When Peters went missing on Sunday night, an Amber Alert was not issued because her case did not meet the criteria. One reason is because law enforcement said they have to know a child is in danger to issue an alert. While Henry has no relation to Peters, he has a 7-year-old daughter of his own and can’t imagine if this had happened to his family.
“The worst feeling is feeling helpless. This has rocked the community, all of us are sick to our stomachs, it’s scary… I’m just an average guy, I’m just trying to help,” Henry said.
The petition has already gotten over 30,000 signatures. No one has been arrested in connection to the homicide case. The Chippewa Falls Police Department is still searching for information.
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