Missing Alert Text System Effectively Works 'TokTok'
Multiple Missing Persons Found Through Citizen Reports
Police: "We Will Establish the System Through Supplementation and Improvement"
[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The 'Missing Alert Text System' is receiving positive reviews from citizens. There are increasing cases where reports from citizens who received the text have led to the discovery of missing persons.
According to the police on the 29th, since its implementation on the 9th, a total of about 24 missing alert texts have been sent nationwide up to this day. Most of the recipients of the missing alert texts have been found, and the alerts have been lifted. Just three days after the system was introduced, on the 11th of this month, A (79), a dementia patient who went missing in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, was found two days after going missing and reunited with family. The police sent missing alert texts to the Suwon and Hwaseong areas, and after a report came in about 30 minutes later, they tracked the location and found A. On the 24th in Busan, B (78), who had gone missing after going for a walk, was found 23 minutes after the alert text was sent, thanks to a report from an apartment security guard. On the same day in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, a missing alert text containing personal information of dementia patient C (75) was sent, and the police found him within 15 minutes after receiving a report from a citizen.
On the 23rd in Incheon, a missing alert text was sent to find D (11), a missing elementary school student, and D was found that same afternoon. Although the report did not immediately lead to the discovery, D’s personal information quickly spread on social networking services (SNS) and online communities, drawing significant attention. Son Seong-bok (30), a self-employed person living in Yeosu, said, "I recently received a missing alert text, and it made me pay close attention to passersby. I think I would report if I saw someone similar, so I believe this is a very effective system."
A police agency official said, "It is true that there were many concerns due to public fatigue from receiving texts about COVID-19 confirmed cases, but from the early stages of implementation, cases of finding missing persons through texts have been continuously reported, gaining positive responses. We will establish the system through supplementation and improvement."
The missing alert text system was implemented on the 9th following the revision of the 'Act on the Protection and Support of Missing Children, etc.' in December last year. It is a system that sends missing person information via text to residents when a child under 18, or a person with intellectual, autism, mental disabilities, or dementia goes missing. Like disaster texts, it is sent to residents in the relevant area based on the wireless base stations of mobile carriers, and the text includes information such as the missing person's age, gender, and physical description. If you see the missing person, you can report by calling 182 without an area code. The text also includes the blog address of the Missing Child Search Center, where you can view missing person information and photos.
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