Endangered Missing Advisory Helps Rescue Michigan Children

MICHIGAN — The improved alert system to help find missing people has helped rescue two sisters who were reportedly in danger this week in northern Michigan.

Shortly before 11 p.m. on Feb. 11, 2019, at the request of the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, the Michigan State Police (MSP) issued an Endangered Missing Advisory (EMA) for 12-year-old Alexis Ypma and 9-year-old Jenna Ypma of Byron Center, Mich. The sisters were believed to be with their father, Joel Ypma, who had reportedly exhibited signs of suffering from some sort of mental episode.

When Joel Ypma failed to drop his children off at school on Monday morning, Ypma’s immediate family became concerned. When they were unable to reach him or the children after repeated attempts, they contacted the Kent County Sheriff’s Department for assistance, who in turn contacted the MSP.

At 12:07 a.m. on Feb. 12, the Mackinac Island Police Department contacted the Kent County Sheriff’s Department to advise that an innkeeper, who saw the EMA on the news, reported the Ypma’s were staying on the island. Police followed up on the tip and confirmed that Joel Ypma and his daughters were in fact there and were safe.

The only access to and from the island is via airplane and it was confirmed that they had flown in earlier that day. Mackinac Island Police are working to return the family back to Kent County.

The MSP created the EMA in 2017, when the state strengthened the criteria for the AMBER Alert to only include cases of child abduction. Knowing that some cases, like this one, would not fit the new criteria, the EMA was created to address these types of endangerment cases.

There have been over 90 successful EMAs issued since 2017. The EMA can be used for missing persons of any age who are considered endangered and need the public’s involvement.

Image via MSP