Here’s why your phone didn’t go off in Northeast Ohio during Wednesday’s Amber Alert

Published: Jun. 30, 2022 at 12:54 PM EDT
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - On Wednesday, police in Mansfield issued an Amber Alert for a mother and young baby who were on the run, but people in Northeast Ohio never received a notification on their phones.

The mother had just lost custody of the child and took off before authorities could remove the baby.

Many in Northeast Ohio saw the alert on social media, but questioned why their phones didn’t go off with an official alert.

According to Lt. Nathan Dennis with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which is the agency responsible for sending alerts to cell phones, investigators determined the mother may be headed from Mansfield to the Jackson in southern Ohio.

The decision was made to only sends the alert to all cell phones between those two cities, which is why people in the Cleveland area never received one.

Lt. Dennis said this is done so that people do not become desensitized to Amber Alerts when they don’t directly involve their area.

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