Statutes | N.M. Stat. Ann. § 29-15-2 | 2025

As used in the Missing Persons Information and Reporting Act [Chapter 29, Article 15 NMSA 1978]:

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 to 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.