Cell phone users across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta received an unexpected early morning message alerting them to some urgent news.
An Amber Alert was issued for a six-year-old girl who was abducted outside a strip mall in North Battleford, Sask.
The girl, who was found early Monday morning and is now being provided medical attention, was in the back seat of an SUV that was stolen around 5 p.m. Sunday.
Manitobans had mixed reactions to the rarely used warning system, but many who received the Amber Alert were more concerned about the missing girl’s whereabouts than the unexpected message.
“My iPhone went off with sounds of sirens at 12:30 last night,” one listener wrote to 680CJOB. “I woke up and almost had a heart attack. It’s creepy what techy gadgets can do, but above all, I hope they find the guy who kidnapped this little girl.”
“I received the Amber Alert in the wee hours,” wrote another. “The ringer on my cell phone is physically turned off. It vibrated at full force until I acknowledged it.
“I was admittedly a bit discombobulated for a moment while I squinted in the dark to read the message.”
Others were disappointed they didn’t receive a warning on their phones.
Mike Olczyk, operations program manager at Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization (EMO), said the decision as to where and when emergency notifications are used is made by the policing authority — in this case, the RCMP.
He said the successful transmission of the alert is hard to measure, but they do know that it was correctly distributed to broadcasters and wireless service providers.
As for why some people received the alert while others did not, Olczyk said it has a lot to do with the device being used — older devices may not be compatible.
“The Canadian Radio, Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has indicated that for devices sold in 2018, they are targeting around 50 per cent of new devices have that technology embedded within them”.
The CRTC goal for devices sold as of April 2019 is 100 per cent compatibility.
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Olczyk said anyone who did not receive the alert should review the software on their device and ensure it is up to date.
“There’s a lot of different devices out there and it’s not the same for each device, but generally speaking, that’s something that the individual users of the devices can do.”
He said anyone with any questions should get in touch with their wireless service provider.
Rogers and Bell MTS both said the alerts were sent out to phones on their network. They said customers who didn’t get the notice should check to see if their phones are compatible and have the latest update.
Information about the wireless alert system is available here.
“The first I heard of the Amber Alert was on the news this morning,” said another. “What scares me is that I have young children, and I would never know if something was wrong with them.”
Police haven’t said if anyone is in custody. An update from police is expected Monday.
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