A petition started by a Chilliwack mom to change the wording in B.C.’s Amber Alert is now available in electronic form for supporters to sign.
Alina Durham, mother of Shaelene Keeler Bell, is asking people to sign either the e-petition or a paper one in honour of her late daughter. Bell, a 23-year-old Chilliwack mother, went missing on Jan. 30, 2021. Her body was found on June 2, 2021 in the Fraser River near Coquitlam.
READ MORE: Chilliwack mom collects signatures in effort to change Amber Alert criteria
Durham has worked tirelessly for the past two years to get an alert in place for adults who go missing under suspicious circumstances. She wants to get the wording in B.C.’s Amber Alert system changed to include victims over the age of 18. All other criteria in the alert would remain the same.
She started collecting pen-on-paper signatures around Canada Day, and now people can sign it electronically. To sign the e-petition, download the PDF form (below), sign it, save it, and then email it to Chilliwack-Kent MLA Kelli Paddon at kelli.paddon.mla@leg.bc.ca.
Additionally, hard copies of the petition are available to sign at the following locations in Chilliwack: Duke’s Country Pub (41582 Yale Rd.), Major League Taphouse (45768 Gaetz St.), Fabutan (104-45655 Tamihi Way), and Corky’s Irish Pub (3-45844 Yale Rd.).
Paddon will be presenting the signed copies through the B.C. Legislation when Durham feels she has enough signatures. The earliest it will be brought to the Legislature is in October when assembly sittings resume.
“She is absolutely unwavering when it comes to advocating for things and I think that is fantastic,” Paddon said of Durham.
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