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§ 29-15-2 NMSA 1978

Definitions

Known as the Missing Persons Information and Reporting Act

The act spans §§ 29–29 (20 sections).

Laws 1995, ch. 146, § 2; 2007, ch. 119, § 1; 2010, ch. 32, § 2; 2010, ch. 33, § 3; 2013, ch. 81, § 2; 2016, ch. 8, § 1; 2019, ch. 50, § 1; 2025, ch. 19, § 1; 2025, ch. 58, § 1.

As used in the Missing Persons Information and Reporting Act:

A. "Brittany alert" means a notification relating to an endangered person:

(1) who is a missing person; and

(2) about whom there is a clear indication that the person has a developmental disability as defined in Subsection A of Section 28-16A-6 NMSA 1978 and that the person's health or safety is at risk;

B. "child" means a person under the age of eighteen years who is not emancipated;

C. "clearinghouse" means the missing persons information clearinghouse;

D. "custodian" means a parent, guardian or other person who exercises legal physical control, care or custody of a child or of an adult with a developmental disability; or a person who performs one or more activities of daily living for an adult;

E. "endangered person" means a missing person who:

(1) is in imminent danger of causing harm to the person's self;

(2) is in imminent danger of causing harm to another;

(3) is in imminent danger of being harmed by another or who has been harmed by another;

(4) has been a victim of a crime as provided in the Crimes Against Household Members Act [ 30-3-10 through 30-3-18 NMSA 1978] or in Section 30-3A-3 or 30-3A-3.1 NMSA 1978, or their equivalents in any other jurisdiction;

(5) is or was protected by an order of protection pursuant to the Family Violence Protection Act [Chapter 40, Article 13 NMSA 1978];

(6) has Alzheimer's disease, dementia or another degenerative brain disorder or a brain injury; or

(7) has a developmental disability as defined in Subsection A of Section 28-16A-6 NMSA 1978 and that person's health or safety is at risk;

F. "immediate family member" means the spouse, nearest relative or close friend of a person;

G. "law enforcement agency" means a law enforcement agency of the state, a state agency or a political subdivision of the state;

H. "lead station" means an AM radio station that has been designated as the "state primary station" by the federal communications commission for the emergency alert system;

I. "missing person" means a person whose whereabouts are unknown to the person's custodian or immediate family member and the circumstances of whose absence indicate that:

(1) the person did not leave the care and control of the custodian or immediate family member voluntarily and the taking of the person was not authorized by law; or

(2) the person voluntarily left the care and control of the custodian without the custodian's consent and without intent to return;

J. "missing person report" means information that is:

(1) given to a law enforcement agency on a form used for sending information to the national crime information center; and

(2) about a person whose whereabouts are unknown to the reporter and who is alleged in the form submitted by the reporter to be missing;

K. "person" means an individual, regardless of age;

L. "possible match" means the similarities between unidentified human remains and a missing person that would lead one to believe they are the same person;

M. "reporter" means the person who reports a missing person;

N. "silver alert" means a notification relating to an endangered person:

(1) who is a missing person; and

(2) who is fifty years or older; or

(3) who the reporter believes displays signs or symptoms of Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia, cognitive decline or impairment, regardless of age;

O. "state agency" means an agency of the state, a political subdivision of the state or a public post-secondary educational institution;

P. "state registrar" means the employee so designated by the public health division of the department of health pursuant to the Vital Statistics Act [Chapter 24, Article 14 NMSA 1978]; and

Q. "turquoise alert" means a notification relating to a missing person who is an enrolled member or a person eligible for enrollment in a federally or state-recognized Indian nation, tribe or pueblo and the person:

(1) is missing due to involuntary, unexplained or suspicious circumstances;

(2) is at risk due to safety or health concerns; or

(3) suffers from a mental or physical disability or substance abuse disorder.

Official source: NMOneSource (New Mexico Compilation Commission). Reproduced from public-domain New Mexico statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.