A few weeks ago, we wrote about "what makes a good missing person message?" and why an "all clear message" is so important. In this post, we link the two together with an interesting example that many organizations are now facing - how and when to notify beyond the original boundaries of the WEA.
For a quick review, let's first look at the missing person message that was sent.
This message includes the source, the event, the location of interest and where the children were last seen. The children were described using gender, age, and clothing type. Instructions are provided to contact the dispatch office and a phone number is given. This is a good message sent via WEA. Notably, there was also a message posted to the Rexburg Police Facebook site and it did NOT include descriptors about the missing juveniles, prompting questions in the comment section.
The juveniles were found safe at the home of a neighbor. And the search was called off. But it seems that before the event was ended, local community members shared the alert county-wide, prompting additional concerns about the children. We suspect the dispatch phone lines got quite a few calls or there were other cues that the search continued among those who weren't informed that it had ended. What do you do in this case?
The Rexburg Police used WEA a second time to issue a post-alert message.
The post-alert message stated that the two missing juveniles were located and were safe. It included a message of gratitude to those who assisted in finding the children. It also included a note stating: the original alert was only sent to a local area around Thomson Farms [a rather limited geographical space in the city]. But the updated alert was sent county-wide as social media has circulated [the message].
This has the characteristics of a good post-alert message. It includes the message source, a recap of the original event, a statement that the event is over and the missing persons are safe. It also includes a statement of gratitude.
What stands out, other than the really good writing here (strong work, Rexburg Police!) is their decision to send it county-wide and the note that was included to explain why the alert went beyond geographic boundaries of the first message. When your community is small, tightly knit, and cohesive and there is a strong community response to a call for assistance, it makes a lot of sense to use that WEA to notify people that the event has been resolved. In the past, we've seen many examples of community centers filling up with local volunteers when a call goes out for help to find a person who is missing; they're definitely invested! Using secondary channels, such as social media updates, will serve to relay information for those who actively seek it out. But to reach everyone, WEA is your go-to channel.
We've spoken with public safety communicators about a similar problem as it relates to evacuees. Naturally, evacuees who received the initial WEA will not be in that same geographically area after they have evacuated. How do you reach them? Do you issue a county-wide WEA message, hoping they haven't gone beyond those boundaries? Do you use secondary channels, such as social and mass media? These are policy issues that must be considered at the local level. For now, this missing person message stands as an important example of how it could work well, under certain conditions.
Of note from the Warn Room: My research team is currently conducting an experiment that tests how to write actionable missing persons messages. We have also produced a post-alert lexicon that is now under academic peer review. Both of these will be forthcoming. In the meantime, for recommended contents for 45 other hazards, 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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