Did you know that there are at least 50 different types of missing persons messages/categories in effect across the United States. FIFTY! And they are inconsistent in naming and use, as they vary from state to state. The alerts named for specific people (Casey, Ashanti, Amber) are generally unfamiliar to people and the colors (gold, silver, amber, blue, purple, camo) don't mean anything if you haven't been trained in law enforcement. It's for these reasons that we recommend using PLAIN LANGUAGE to convey information about the missing person and what to do to assist in locating them.
This message issued in Florida has so many great features. It clearly indicates that there is a missing endangered adult and provides details about unique aspects that might help to identify the victim (missing fingers and a notable tattoo). It shares location information (in your area as well as where the man was last seen) and provides clear instructions about how to help: 1) be on the lookout, 2) check around your property, 3) check your cameras. It then conclude with a link for more information (which takes you to a picture of the missing person).
Essentially, the message follows most of the recommendations of the Warning Response Model including those for content and style, helping to make it easy to read and memorable.
A few additional notes:
I'm not sure what is the purpose of the / between / words /; perhaps it is for readability?
The use of ALL CAPS to highlight the event draws attention to the headline.
I wonder if there was a police presence conducting public safety activities around the location where the person was last seen? I also wonder if public safety was intended to serve as the name of the message sender.
It would be useful to know who to contact if the victim is found.
We see a lot of poorly written missing person messages on warn.pbs, and this is a true exemplar of a message that delivers enough information to be actionable. As a message receiver I get a clear sense of who this person is and what I should be looking for to be helpful. By issuing clear and actionable messages, members of the public can contribute to the public safety efforts, hopefully helping to bring the missing adult home soon.
My research team is currently designing an experiment that will test how to write actionable missing persons messages, with the hope of unlocking some of the key features that are most necessary for motivating action, reducing frustration among message receivers, and leading to an engaged public. In the meantime, messages like these can help us to see how to better craft effective missing person alerts. Thanks AlertJax for being a great example!
For more recommended contents, be sure to download The Warning Lexicon - it's free and offers step-by-step instructions on how to write a better warning message.
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