A statewide Amber Alert was issued in California last night as authorities search for 16-year-old Hannah Anderson and 8-year-old Ethan Anderson. James Lee DiMaggio, 40, is suspected of abducting the siblings from San Diego County on Saturday after he murdered their mother.
Amber Alert to iPhone, this is a first for me. Be on the lookout…. Blue Nissan versa 4 door pic.twitter.com/KsjITREDBA
— brian pokorny (@brianp) August 6, 2013
“California” and “#AmberAlert” zoomed up the Twitter trends chart as iPhone users received the alert. Amber Alerts are pushed to iPhone 4S and 5 phones running iOS 6.1.
Wow 2 trends worldwide about this Amber Alert. Kinda freaked me out tbh. Hoping the kids come home safe pic.twitter.com/xR2uEJj1S3
— jbfoeva (@g8_ruth) August 6, 2013
But the trend wasn’t solely about concern for the kidnapped kids. Won’t somebody think of the iPhone owners?
iPhone just gave me my first Amber Alert, and the sound it makes is absolutely terrifying! Would a soothing harp sound be so wrong?
— Mike Schiff (@SchiffyM) August 6, 2013
https://twitter.com/wesisrad/status/364684768006246400
Just got a random amber alert sent to my iphone the sound it made scared the hell outta me
— رامي (@RamzDizzle) August 6, 2013
https://twitter.com/Dalt584/status/364629442804449280
My gf just got an Amber Alert on her iPhone. Crazy, never seen or heard of such a thing. Sound was horrible, turned off before reading alert
— Taylen Peterson ? (@taylen24) August 6, 2013
https://twitter.com/kevinvarz/status/364627304145633280
This iPhone Amber Alert almost gave me a heart attack… That sound freaked me out
— Ryan Diew (@RyanDiew) August 6, 2013
Just got an amber alert on my iPhone accompanied by a tornado-warning style sound. That's a first!
— Nima Gupta (@PoornimaGupta) August 6, 2013
New irrational fear: the sound the iPhone makes when there's an amber alert #nosleep
— Anna-kin Skywalker (@annachiaaa) August 6, 2013
Hope the kids are found safe, but is the iPhone amber alert meant to sound like the horn of a car containing kidnapped kids, because it does
— DINO DINCO (@THATDINODINCO) August 6, 2013
https://twitter.com/BryceJones/status/364626010211221504
Even the California Highway Patrol acknowledged that the Amber Alert “might have scared some of you.”
That Amber Alert tone you received on your cell phone might have scared some of you but we need all eyes out for this http://t.co/w9hfIq7Y2p
— CHP PIO – LA County (@CHPsouthern) August 6, 2013
But when every second counts, the iPhone alerts are essential to raising awareness about abducted kids.
An upside to the freak-out: The trending Twitter topic brought much-needed attention to the abduction of Hannah and Ethan.
200,000 are talking about this #AmberAlert, currently top US trend on twitter. pic.twitter.com/kIjMimkw7l
— Paul Horn (@paulandpolitics) August 6, 2013
Instead of being annoying and trending the word "amber alert" let's try trend the actual picture… #RT pic.twitter.com/TsOyqdNDPQ
— WØLFY (@_AJ3K) August 6, 2013
PLEASE WE CAN TREND TWEETS WITHIN A SECOND CAN WE USE OUR POWER FOR GOOD #AmberAlert #PrayForTheAndersons pic.twitter.com/Qi667ru7O9
— dirty dan (@peiweyhey) August 6, 2013
Here’s what the suspect looks like without facial hair.
New photo of California AMBER alert suspect James DiMaggio (KFMB) pic.twitter.com/wQ2uLy3xyA.
— Kelsey Duckett (@KelseyDuckett) August 6, 2013
For the record, the notifications can be disabled.
Why did you receive an Amber Alert message on your cell phone? Read more: http://t.co/w9hfIq7Y2p You can opt out in your phone's settings.
— CHP PIO – LA County (@CHPsouthern) August 6, 2013
Related:
iPhone users still freaked out by Amber Alerts; Update: missing toddler in Flint, MI found
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