Dallas

Supporters Urge Passage of the ‘Kelley Alert'

The family and friends of a young Dallas woman who was abducted and killed three years ago are once again pushing to create the "Kelley Alert" to prevent similar tragedies.

"They have the Amber Alert, and that covers 17 and under. The Silver (Alert) is 64 and over. But in between there's no alert," said the Rev. Ronald Wright, with the group Justice Seekers Texas.

D'Lisa Kelley, a pregnant mother of young child, was abducted not far her South Dallas home on March 7, 2014.

Her phone dialed a relative, who heard Kelley screaming at someone to get off her.

Kelley's grandmother soon reported her missing, but Dallas police didn't start looking for the 24-year-old until days later.

Her beaten body was found a week after Kelley disappeared, a short mile from where she was last seen.

"If the law would've came out when the grandmother made the call, she could have still been here today," said Jennifer Smith, with the Kelley Alert Foundation. "But because there was a delay, it caused a problem and she's no longer with us now."

The bill to create the Kelley Alert – first introduced in Austin two years ago – was filed for the second time last week, three years to the day after Kelley disappeared.

"We're going to continue to advocate for it until it gets passed," said Dominique Alexander, founder of the Kelley Alert Foundation.

An internal police investigation led to the dispatcher who took the 9-1-1 call to be suspended for one day.

The family filed a lawsuit against the police chief, city of Dallas, the 9-1-1 operator and multiple cell phone providers and manufacturers. They claim the grandmother's 9-1-1 call was improperly handled and assistance was ignored.

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