Kelley Alert: Dallas mother's mission to create adult missing person alert could soon become law

DALLAS - A Dallas mother's mission to create an Amber Alert style system alert for adults is about to become reality.

D'Lisa Kelley was found murdered a week after she disappeared in March 2014. It took Dallas police several days to issue a critical missing alert. Kelley's killer has never been found.

A bill delivered to Governor Greg Abbot's desk this week would establish an adult missing person alert system like the Amber and Silver alerts in Texas.

Kelley’s mother, Lasondra, has been pushing for the state to create an adult missing persons alert system since 2015.

All it lacks now is the governor's signature, and Kelley is hoping the missing adult notification will carry her child's name and be known as the Kelley Alert.

Five years ago, an abandoned home in Oak Cliff became a horrid place of brutality for 24-year-old D'Lisa Kelley, mother of a toddler and who was two months pregnant.

She left her grandmother's home on March 7, 2014. Two days later, police issued a want to locate for Kelley. On March 11, a critical missing alert went out. Her body was discovered on March 14.

“With this, I just feel like she's got a purpose still. She lives on, you know,” Lasondra Kelley said.

Since 2015, Kelley - through State Representative Toni Rose - has pushed the alert for missing adults.

The bill stalled in 2015 and 2017, but this session, it swept through both chambers.

It directs that law enforcement "shall develop and implement a system to allow a statewide alert to be activated on behalf of a missing adult” persons between 16 and 50.

“You have the Amber Alert that’s for children, and you have the Silver Alert for elderly people, but you have nothing for us, so I wanted to save our lives as well, you know, so that everyone could have that safety net,” Kelley added.

The state would establish guidelines for law enforcement, like whether circumstances indicate the missing adult is in imminent danger, and whether the disappearance may not have been voluntary for when an agency is required to report a missing adult.

And Kelley hopes law enforcement will immediately begin pinging cell phone of the missing person, even though D'Lisa didn't get that help.

“With the way things worked out, we were late and I think with this system we'll catch things a little faster, you know, and maybe have less deaths,” Kelley said.

Kelley and her family traveled to Austin three years ago to meet with Gov. Abbott.

“He promised me that when it came across his desk, he would put his John Hancock on it and make it official, so I’m waiting for that,” Kelley said.

Kelley has waited five years for D'Lisa's killer to be caught, but that might not happen.

“Of course, she'll never be forgotten,” Kelley said. “She's my child, but I just don’t want to feel like she died in vain.”

With the bipartisan support, and several joint authors from both sides of the aisle, Kelley is hopeful this passes on the third try.

It’s expected Gov. Abbott will sign the missing adult alert bill into law, and Kelley hopes he puts her daughter’s name on it.