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THERE IS NO AMBER ALERT IN MARYLAND

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THERE IS NO AMBER ALERT IN MARYLAND

ST. MARY'S COUNTY - 2/9/2009

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Despite a mass text messaging effort by a cell phone carrier which went out at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9, there is NO AMBER ALERT in St. Mary's County, Maryland. The alert which was sent and forwarded to thousands of cell phone subscribers read; "AMBER ALERT: A seven year old St. Mary's County girl was taken by a man driving a newer silver truck, license plate 72B381." However, TBN investigated the claim and authorities stated that no such case was being worked in Maryland by any law enforcement agency. A follow-up report will be addressed here on TBN as more information is made available. To reiterate, there is NO AMBER ALERT in St. Mary's County, Maryland.

 

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BECAREFUL Not Logged In 2/10/2009 at 8:49 AM
Such CRAP...
Why would anyone send something out about something so serious? I got this same text message twice and sent it to everyone I know. People just dont understand how serious this is...If another message like this goes out people arent going to beleive it. Some people need to get a clue.
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donkey_punch Not Logged In 2/10/2009 at 11:57 AM
Reply to BECAREFUL: Why...
Why would anyone forward such a message out to everyone they know without first finding out if it's true?
Ladydelmd Not Logged In 2/10/2009 at 5:28 PM
Reply to BECAREFUL: True Ambert Alerts
True Amber Alerts are sent directly to your cell phone they are not forwared from one person to another. I have received two true Amber alerts and you can tell the real ones from a fake...fakes are like a chain letter with FW:FW:FW: I received the St. Marys one today and it only took me less than 30 seconds to find out it was a fake.
Red1027 Not Logged In 2/10/2009 at 12:59 PM
Thanks Baynet
I'm so glad I checked this site before I forwarded the text message to people. I knew you all would have the correct story on here.
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BECAREFUL Not Logged In 2/10/2009 at 3:35 PM
Reply to Red1027: Well then...
donkey punch are you telling me that if this were in fact true you would want somebody to try and find out if this is true before forwarding it everyone they know and take the chance of letting a child predator go free? Come on now idiot...you must not have children do you because if you did then you would understand the importance of the amber alert and why so many people sent it to everyone that they know. I guess next time something like this happens I will just call the police department and waste time finding out if it really is true being as time is really not that important when trying to find a missing child that is in the hands of the wrong person. Idiot
donkey_punch Not Logged In 2/10/2009 at 4:30 PM
Reply to Red1027: Looks like I hit a nerve
Wow, one simple question got you fired up to the point of name calling. Keep showing your intelligence. I do have kids and if I had received the text, I would have checked reliable sources before sending it out to everyone I know. What will happen tomorrow when a similar message gets sent out? All the panicky people will forward it to 25 people. What about the week after that? Pretty soon, everyone will assume the next message is a hoax just like the last one. Ever hear of Chicken Little?
r_u_4_real Not Logged In 2/10/2009 at 4:55 PM
okay...
other than the name calling I have to agree with BECAREFUL.

I got the text and sent it to everyone I knew. After I sent it, I sat at the computer and searched the validity of the text. Once I realized there was no Amber Alert in St. Mary's, I then forwarded the link to everyone through email and I also sent out a text to those I forwarded the "Amber Alert" to.

However, most people do not have the ability to check the validity of these things as quickly as I did. My sugestion is that we take all of these serious until proven other wise. If it is a hoax, it will get back to everyone as being such that.

KUDOS to those who passed it along. And KUDOS to those who investigated the text and posted that it was a hoax. These things should NEVER be taken lightly! Shame on who ever is responsible for starting this hoax!
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northerngal Not Logged In 2/11/2009 at 3:36 PM
From North Dakota
I received this text message from a friend. St. Mary's is a name of many of our Catholic churchs throughout the communities of our state. I had heard a few days earlier that a similar text was being sent regarding an Amber Alert in Minnesota which turned out to be false so I googled the text message and was directed to this page. I can not believe that this message has made it all the way to North Dakota. Amber Alerts by text are foreign to us, it is not something we see a lot of and I'm sure this has been forward hundreds of times already. I just hope they catch whoever started this. It is said to play with someone emotions like that.
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NotBornHere Not Logged In 2/12/2009 at 1:57 PM
Thanks to Ladydelmd
At least one person got the facts straight instead of resorting to name calling. The fact of the matter is the Amber Alert system was NOT set up so people with nothing better to do can forward rumors. That just makes you part of the problem instead of being part of a solution.

Donkey_punch mentions Chicken Little when I think the "Little Boy Who Cried Wolf" is more appropriate. Eventually nobody will listen, just like the car alarms going off in the store parking lot.

Leave the Amber Alerts to the experts who send out the real messages. Ignore the ones forwarded by people who don't know what they are talking about.
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ghostrider Not Logged In 2/13/2009 at 8:54 AM
Let's do something about it.
A lot of comments have been made, but what can we as citizens of Southern Maryland do to fix the problem? I suggest we petition our community leaders to have both the local and national cable providers provide alerts to the local in question via the TV screen and or radio. When I was in Oklahoma some years ago I noticed that the TV was diplaying a Yellow band at the bottom of the screen with amber alert info. Why not have that service here or for that matter everywhere? The more a community is involved, the sooner our children can be safer in the streets and parks.
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