Cook wanted an emergency alert sent so the community could look for her missing boy. Cook was told that the missing Joshua Al-Lateef Jr. didn't meet the criteria for an immediate alert. Instead, a community-wide notification was sent after more than five hours.

Joshua's story ended in tragedy 28 hours later. The 6-year-old boy drowned in a pond at the family's West Chester apartment complex.

Joshua's family wants to save other children from the same fate. To that end, the Ohio House of Representatives passed the Joshua Alert law unanimously on Nov. 12. The proposed law heads to the Ohio Senate for consideration.

Also known as House Bill 359, the proposed law would require local law enforcement to notify the statewide emergency alert program immediately if a child diagnosed with auti

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