Residents Appear To Receive Amber Alert On Phones With Little Info On Missing Dallas 4-Year-Old, Fermin Fuentes
Dallas Police Department Blames DPS For Botched Amber Alert Sunday
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - An Amber Alert was issued late Sunday evening for a reportedly missing 4-year-old boy in Dallas. Although he was later found safe and wasn't in any danger according to police, many complained that the alert they received on their cellphones had little to no information on the case.
The Amber Alert was active for Fermin Fuentes who, police say, was inside a vehicle that was stolen in the 2200 block of South Buckner Boulevard in east Dallas at around 6 p.m. After finding the vehicle in the 8100 block of Rylie Road, police later said they took three people into custody in relation to the stolen vehicle.
Police later found Fuentes safe with his mother and said he was never in any danger. Police said they found inconsistencies with the report by the child's father.
The Amber Alert has since been discontinued.
Despite the news of the child's safe finding, there appeared to be issues with the alert residents got on their phones Sunday evening.
Many voiced their frustrations after they received a message that said: AMBER Alert: Any information regarding this abduction, call Dallas Police Department 214.671.4268. That was the only information they received, according to many on social media.
The complaints appeared to come from both iPhone and Android users.
"This Alert didn't tell me anything, had me lost!!!" Lavone Standberry said on Facebook.
"Nothing describing him or a car or anything. I didn't even know a child was missing. The amber alert needs fixing," Jennifer Morrison added.
Last week, an Amber Alert for a missing 8-year-old girl, Salem Sabatka, in Fort Worth appeared to have issues being sent out to the general public, according to police. In this case, police said the issue had to do with not having a license plate number for the suspect's vehicle.
