TORONTO — The mother of an 18-year-old with autism who was recently found safe after going missing in the woods in eastern Ontario is calling on the government to create a new type of alert for vulnerable people.

Jenny Tozer says her son Logan left their home in Havelock, Ont., in the middle of the night, travelled 35 kilometres north through wooded areas and got lost trying to get back home.

He was eventually found after 17 days in an abandoned building in Havelock with, as his mom says, three tick bites and an adventure story to tell.

But she believes he could have been found much sooner if an alert similar to Amber Alerts had been sent to area residents’ cellphones.

A provincial private member’s bill from New Democrat Monique Taylor would implement a system of alerts for vulnerable people like children with autism or seniors with dementia, but it is stalled at the committee stage in the legislature.

She introduced the bill in March 2023 and one day of public hearings was held a year later, but the next stage — in which the legislative committee looks at the bill clause by clause and considers amendments — has not yet happened.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press