CODI Alert Program passes in the Virginia General Assembly
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RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) — The Virginia Critical Operation for a Disappeared Child Initiative is making its way through the Virginia General Assembly.
Both chambers passed what’s known as the Codi Alert Program.
The CODI Alert is named in honor of 4-year-old Codi Bigsby, who was never found after being reported missing in January 2022.
When Codi went missing, there wasn’t an AMBER Alert issued because police didn’t believe he was abducted.
Right now, there is no other alert or notification for a missing child unless the child is believed to have been abducted.
“Before Cody went missing, most people thought that when a kid went missing, there was an Amber Alert. It was just in our minds that’s what happened. And the truth of the matter, that’s not always what happens,” State Del. A.C. Cordoza, (R) 86th District, said.
Local legislators wanted to fill the gaps for children in the Commonwealth.
Previous coverage: ‘CODI Alert’ hopes to fill gaps left by Amber alert system: Hampton Del. Cordoza
State Sen. Danny Diggs and State Del. Bonita Anthony, both representing Hampton Roads, introduced the legislation to their chambers.
“We want to make sure that we have some resources put in place just to reunite kids in their families as quickly as we can,” Diggs said. “The Codi alert is an attempt to, you know, find kids who may have wandered off or some kind of way have gotten misplaced…where there is no indication that there’s been an abduction so that we can recover kids quickly and reunite them with their families.”
Cordoza did a lot of the leg work on this legislation. He introduced a bill early on, but it was killed.
He said the alert would pop up on phones in a 10-mile radius of where the child lives and where the child was last seen. Plus, the alert will include a larger radius as time goes on.
“We need an alert. When a kid goes missing, we should have an alert saying that a kid went missing,” he said.
On Thursday, the House of Delegates version of the bill unanimously passed in the Senate. On Wednesday, the Senate version of the bill unanimously passed on Wednesday.
“This has certainly been a success where you’ve just been a bipartisan effort and I think along the way, at least on my bill, I think on their version of the bill, too, it was unanimous,” Diggs said.
Cordoza added: “It’s a huge win for children, for families, for law enforcement, for the community as a whole… It’s a great day in Hampton Roads, especially Hampton. Knowing Codi Bigsby was something that brought our whole community together and now we can get this alert in his honor to make sure that we can save some more local.”
This legislation will now move to the Governor’s desk.
“I’m confident that Governor Youngkin will sign this and I can’t wait to really commemorate Codi because if it wasn’t for him, most people wouldn’t even know this was an issue,” Cordoza said.
Check with WAVY.com for updates.
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