Countless New Yorkers were roused from a sound slumber at 3:51 a.m. Wednesday by an emergency message transmitted via their cellphones: a missing child.
The alert set off cellphones across the city after the New York Police Department reported that a 7-month-old boy was kidnapped by his biological mother the previous afternoon from a social service facility at Seventh Avenue and 125th Street in Harlem during a supervised visit. The authorities say the woman is bipolar and has had recent outbreaks of violence. She does not have legal custody of her child, according to a police report.
A spokesman for the Police Department said that the so-called Amber Alert was requested after officers determined that the child could be in imminent danger, but that it was the state police that approved and sent out the alert. The missing boy had not been located as of this morning, the officer said.
But the early morning alert sparked a backlash on Twitter and social media sites as people recounted their panic, confusion and irritation at hearing their cellphones beep and vibrate in the wee hours. “Is such a disruptive alarm necessary in the middle of the night?” one woman wondered blearily on Twitter.
All smartphones made after a certain point in 2011 automatically receive Wireless Emergency Alerts. Usually in New York City, they are used for high-level warnings like evacuation orders. In January, the federal government added Amber Alerts to the system.
The police have identified the mother as Marina Lopez, 25, of Queens, and described her as 5 feet 7 inches, 130 pounds and wearing a pink T-shirt and floral print shorts. The boy was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt and black shorts. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-577-TIPS.
h/t New York Times
