Sen. Chuck Schumer is demanding that the federal government create a program to outfit autistic kids with tracking devices after the disappearance of autistic teen Avonte Oquendo, whose remains were recently discovered, the New York Daily News.
The senator plans to introduce "Avonte’s Law" this week. Oquendo disappeared from the Riverview School in Long Island City, Queens, N.Y., Oct. 4, 2013. His remains were found Jan. 16 along the East River shoreline in College Point. Avonte Oquendo was buried Sunday, the Daily News reports.
"Thousands of families face the awful reality each and every day that their child with autism may run away," Schumer told reporters Sunday, the Daily News reports. "Making voluntary tracking devices available will help put parents at ease, and most importantly, help prevent future tragedies like Avonte’s.”
Schumer initially raised the $10 million idea in November when the Queens teen was still missing. If his plan is enacted, tracking devices would be attached to wristwatches or anklets, or clipped on belt loops or shoelaces and would cost around $80 to $90, the Daily News reports.
Read more at New York Daily News.