Palm Coast and Flagler County residents have criticized Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and Flagler County Emergency Services in large numbers over the alert about a missing juvenile Saturday evening. As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, 200 people had called Emergency Services subsequently to complain, Emergency Services Director Kevin Guthrie said, and 33 asked to be removed from the Code Red alert system. (FlaglerLive’s comment section was also rife with complaints here and here.) The system has also been used for very localized miscellaneous warnings, such as a few boil-water advisories and a swine-flu shot advisory from the health department (in 2009). (See the full list below.)
But both agencies on Tuesday defended the Code Red alert, explaining that they followed protocol in an unusual case, and that none of the steps taken—including the second Code Red call that went out late that night to let people know the 14-year-old boy was found—were frivolous, or without reason. Most of those who complained, Guthrie said, chose to stay with Code Red once they understood what steps the system followed and why.
“We do not initiate frivolous missing-person calls,” Guthrie said.
Since the system has been in place starting in 2009, it’s been used just three times for a missing person–in 2010, in 2011 and last weekend. The overwhelming majority of the calls are for severe weather warnings. There were 16 such calls in 2011, 16 in 2012 (including a tornado warning and a flash-flood warning) and 11 in 2013, including three tornado warnings. Two of those warnings went out the night of the actual tornado touchdown in Palm Coast on Dec. 14. So far this year, there’s been five calls–two severe-weather warnings, a tornado warning and the two missing-person calls on Saturday.
“The system did what it was intended to do,” Sheriff Jim Manfre said in release issued Tuesday. “Calls went out to some 55,651 citizens in the County with 77.67 percent or 43,223 of the calls being delivered. Of those 43,223 calls, 93 percent were confirmed as having been listened to by the citizen. It is comforting to know that the Code RED system has the potential to effectively reach as many people as it does. We certainly encourage people to stay connected to Code RED for their sake and that of their loved ones.”
Nevertheless, the Sheriff’s Office initiated a review of the Code Red policy (it’s not completed) and will, according to Sheriff’s spokesman Bob Weber, take the following steps: Approval by the Sheriff of all Code RED messages issued by the Sheriff’s Office, absent exigent circumstances; development of a coordinated training program, conducted by the EOC (Kevin Guthrie) with representation from the Cities of Palm Coast, Bunnell and Flagler Beach; and clarification of the in-house use of the system for emergency recall of personnel, SWAT call-out, etc.
The Code Red alert went out starting around 9 p.m. The Ormond Beach-based Code Red company that issues the calls cannot do so simultaneously, so it takes a while for all the numbers to be dialed. Since the boy returned home around 10:40, a second call was ordered, and began ringing on people’s home and cell phones late into the night.
Many residents who complained raised issues about the alert being sent out within hours of the boy disappearing, saying that agencies normally wait 24 hours before conducting an official search. That’s a misconception, Weber said. The decisions to issue public alerts in Palm Coast and Flagler are on a case-by-case basis.
In this case, the alert could not be fully transparent to the public because of privacy laws that prevented authorities from revealing health issues that also prompted the heightened urgency.
In the meantime, and in response to the first call, hundreds of people were calling Emergency Services with tips and possible sightings about the boy. Those calls helped authorities realize that they’d been looking in the wrong place, as many of the calls were pointing to the beaches area, Guthrie said.
But once Alex returned home, the calls continued to come in.
“We were getting hundreds of phone calls in the communications center an hour in reference to tips as to where the kid might be,” Guthrie said, “so we felt it was worthwhile to put out to the 55,000 people we notified that we did find the child and that they could stop calling us.” That decision was a matter of public safety, too, Guthrie said: with the communications center flooded by calls about a missing-person matter that had been resolved, the calls could have been delaying responses to more urgent developments, whether a person’s heart attack or a burglary. The communications center “would not have been able to put up with that demand had we not put out a call, so that’s why it was done,” Guthrie said.
This was only the third time that the Code Red system was used for a missing person since its inception. As of Monday afternoon, 71 additional people had signed up for the Code Red system. “Only about 30 people have said flat out don’t ever call me again,” Guthrie said.
Code RED, the Sheriff’s Office noted, is an emergency weather notification system, a notification system for information about wildfires, chemical spills, natural or manmade disasters, and other public safety issues such as missing children or the elderly, or an escaped prisoner warnings. It is also a system for general community service announcements. Of the three parts of the system, residents only have the option to opt out of emergency weather and general notifications.
You can sign up for the Code Red system here.
The chart below is the full list of Code Red usage in Flagler County since 2008, as provided by Flagler County Emergency Services’ Bob Pickering this afternoon. “Anything painted blue are code red calls that were locally generated (as in we pulled the trigger on the system),” Pickering notes. “The other calls are from Code Red Weather Warning which is automatically driven when the NWS pushes out a warning that Code Red Weather Warning relays.”
Florida Native. says
He can defend it all he wants but the fact of the matter is FCSO jumped the gun on this one. A teenager doesn’t come home for a few hours and you call out the Sheriff’s Office? Then they send out the cavalry? Really? I’ve seen nothing but drama and nothing positive from this Sheriff. Don Fleming for Sheriff. Remember to vote people.
a parent says
Did you not read the part above that there were health issues that could not be disclosed. If the child was diabetic or something, without meds at the proper time, they might of been looking for a child in insulin coma or something. It seems to be there is more to this story that cannot be disclosed due to privacy issues. This was not jus a cut and dry case of a teenager who didn’t come home. I know personally that has happened before in this county and they didn’t send out the calvary. Yes they searched for the teen, but not with helicopters and there was no code red alert.
lindaland13 says
Homicide Investigation Tracking System
In nearly 60 percent of the cases studied, more than two hours passed between the time someone realized the child was missing and the time police were notified.
In 76 percent of the missing children homicide cases studied, the child was dead within three hours of the abduction–and in 88.5 percent of the cases the child was dead within 24 hours.
http://www.atg.wa.gov/childabductionresearch.aspx
So let’s wait 24 hours.
Genie says
Florida Native: While I agree with you 100% about this Sheriff jumping the gun, there is no way people in this town will support bringing back Don Fleming.
How about some new material for a change? We keep running the same people for office here and then wonder why we’re being screwed. Duh!
NortonSmitty says
No doubt that if this had ended badly this page would be filled with the same people bitching that they waited too long to protect the children.
I/M/O says
If your Don Fleming is not going to use “EVERY” means at his disposal to locate a Missing Child then he is the last man I would vote for.
red says
This is why you were called. There is no such law or rule to wait 24 hours before reporting or looking for a missing person. It is trulya case by case situation. They were immediately concerened for this child due to a health nature and began looking as soon as the mother contacted FCSO.
“Many residents who complained raised issues about the alert being sent out within hours of the boy disappearing, saying that agencies normally wait 24 hours before conducting an official search. That’s a misconception, Weber said. The decisions to issue public alerts in Palm Coast and Flagler are on a case-by-case basis.
In this case, the alert could not be fully transparent to the public because of privacy laws that prevented authorities from revealing health issues that also prompted the heightened urgency.”
Good work FCSO and all the citizens who called in!
lindaland13 says
So people are complaining that the boy was found “too fast”? I’m sure he is sorry he had not been abducted, or hurt. So next time let’s wait the 24 hours so the child can be abused, or killed. It’s a shame that these parents actually worried about their son.
barbie says
Well that’s just it–how is it that suddenly we’re not waiting 24 hours? I’ve always thought that a silly parameter anyway, but when, exactly, did that change and who authorized it?
This is a serious question, one I’m only asking because it is a widely-held belief, in addition to being official policy everywhere I have ever lived, that one waits a full 24 hours before local law enforcement will act on a missing person. And if it is policy in this county, then how did this one person get elevated to “something special”?
It is patently unfair to mis-characterize this as “people complaining the boy was found too fast”. I think it’s a legitimate beef. I once had the unfortunate honor of filing a missing persons report for a child, and I had to wait the full day, whether I wanted to or not. Seems to me in addition to “creating drama”, there’s a desire to keep people scared half to death around here, just because it can be done. One wonders if this happens in other jurisdictions as frequently as it’s been happening here lately.
Nancy Mann says
People are ridiculous…. there was a missing boy for God sake! Way to go Flagler County Sheriff’s Office for a job well done.
meme4andcounting says
I seriously can’t believe that people would actually complain about getting this phone call. My son, who lives in the B section called us to tell us helicopters were flying low looking for someone……..he had been living with me in the F section the last time this happened and we were told to stay in our houses because they were looking for someone with a gun. Needless to say, he thought this was again the case but didn’t have a clue. Sooo…..not only was this good, to ease their minds of potential harm in the area, but it alerted the community that a young boy who was not known to walk off, was missing. Wait 24 hours……are you kidding……..usually that’s too late…………I commend the code red system for alerting us, even if the call did wake me up………better off safe then sorry.
Mary Cannady says
IMO, anyone opting out is “cutting off his nose to spite his face.” They may regret this during a future tornado or forest fire.
The Truth says
I really don’t understand some people. The purpose of these systems is to be notified of emergencies. If a young boy is missing, what harm does it do to get a phone call about a missing child and perhaps someone could help find him or her?
I think some people needs to pull the stick out of their @$$ and understand that as humans we should all be looking out for each other. Despicable, absolutely despicable.
Pastor Jones says
If the Code Red system saves one person it is worth it, In this day and time we need something to warn the people as fast as we can. Good work my hat is off to you. God bless.
Greg says
So…..my question to the Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management…
Is this going to be the future protocol for every young adult or child that has an argument with their parent and runs off to collect sea shells???
Additionally what is the current protocol? What are the policy numbers and effective dates of said policies that these agencies are referring to? I’m pretty sure…..they don’t exist.
There is definitely more to this, because I don’t…nor have I ever seen such unecessary efforts put forth in Flagler County.
Sounds more like someone knew someone….or someone at the Sheriff’s Office didn’t know how to do their job.
Johnny Taxpayer says
Eh, did you bother to read the article? The 14 year old was missing over 9 hours before the call was made, and the article implies there was a medical concern in addition which for obvious reasons couldn’t be communicated on the call.
I’m no fan of this Sheriff, but in this case I can’t find fault. The idea that we have to wait 24 hours before marshaling the resources we pay for to locate a missing child is ridiculous. Ask any LEO and they’ll tell you the first 24 hours are critical to finding a missing person, yet it would appear many would prefer we piss them away so an arbitrary deadline can be met prior to sending out a phone call because it might disturb them for 30 seconds of their precious self involved life.
I/M/O says
Protocol in any police agency is once a child is reported missing you start a search and don’t stop until that child is located or accou8nted for.
That is protocol all over this nation.
ummmm says
@Greg: Not sure how long you’ve lived here, but as the chart clearly indicates in the past SIX YEARS a missing person notification has gone out 3 times. It would seem there is protocol in place because I am absolutely sure Flagler has had its share of missing persons cases in that time frame but was able to resolve the issue without an emergency alert. I can think of at least 6 other cases I read about in the news regarding a missing person who was elderly and confused, but alerts were not issued in those cases.
And if you read the facts of this case over the other stories linked to this this one, it clearly points out that law enforcement & the family had been searching for the kid since noon that day. 10 hours later, not only considering the dangers of the temperatures dropping, but the fact that any minor should not be roaming around by themselves so late into the night, IMO it seems this was a true emergency alert notification situation.
However, Greg… its fine if you still take issue with this, just let the Sheriff’s Office know should someone you love & care for go missing to not use any & all means necessary to bring that person safely back to you.
Marvelous says
Every single one of those thirty that canceled over this would want the call made if it was their child.
confidential says
Good use of the code red alert! Doesn’t bother me a bit to be called late or whenever needed…do anyone think that tornadoes, bad storms, hurricanes, fires, or an I-95 hazardous chemical truck spill, will advise us with a mailed invitation that they are hitting us too? C’mon people!
beachlady says
I wasn’t called. How and where do you sign up for Code Red?
Greg says
I am a father of two and have resisted in Flagler County since 1992…
I have total empathy for a parent with a legitimate missing child. However….I cannot understand or fathom the expenditure of resources.
EVERY PARENT IN FLAGLER COUNTY THAT HAS HAD A CHILD RUN AWAY FROM HOME BECAUSE THEY WERE MAD OR COME HOME LATE FROM SCHOOL IN THE PAST AND NOW MORE IMPORTANTLY IN THE FUTURE SHOULD EXPECT THE SAME TREATMENT!!!
I’ll be more than happy to detail all the resources that were unnecessarily expended….it’s very detailed!
ummmm says
@ Greg: Just so I understand, you are saying because some disagreement/argument preceded this child’s disappearance that makes this an illegitimate missing persons case? If either of your 2 children walked off because they were upset with you, not return after 10 hours- while the temperature continued to drop, & God forbid (as was in this case) have a serious medical condition in which they were over-due for treatment, you would go about your business as usual… calmly go to bed at or before 11pm and have a good nights rest?
Even still, if you weren’t personally concerned for your own children’s well-being, what makes you trust every other stranger she/he may encounter after having wondered so far away from home?
Please provide factual events you’ve researched & the sources that would make you believe this protocol is not in place for all missing persons cases in Flagler County.
I would also like to see this detailed list of resources you are happy to supply of what you constitute as being unnecessarily expended. HOWEVER, please have the data to back all of it up; I am not looking for your opinion or hearsay, as I feel you have already supplied a sufficient sampling of such. Florida public record laws should make this very easy for you to research.
Obama 2014 says
People have way too much to complain about. I guess the phone calls interrupted their Red Box Movie, Oxycontin and Cheap Beer Runs. With Bike week and two dead people found in the woods in the last two weeks the Flagler County Sheriff did the right thing. I am just glad the kid is ok and the mother was actually worried about him.
John says
It’s good to have a Code Red system, but making the call for a disobedient child who was out less than 12 hours? I question the wisdom of its use in this case.
Flatsflyer says
Follow the money, my understanding is thaat the private company get paid per call place and a bonus for each call that is listen too. So how much did these two call cost?
deb says
maybe some of the people complaining just want to be alerted to “good emergencies”?
Anonymous says
How can people complain about trying to find a missing child? I think that I would be more upset if they had waited 24 hours.
sally glissendorf says
I think it was good thing you did . it could easily have been much worse. keep up good work
Sherry says
How can people complain about trying to find a lost child? I would be more upset if they had waited 24 hours.
Someone says
Aw, people were complaining about a phone call. Get a tissue for that issue. Its just a damn phone call chill out. Yeah the kid decided to take the day off and be alone. We all wanna do that once in a while. My parents worry when I walk out the door to go to school. Anything can happen.
m&m says
I didn’t sign up for a code red alert but I was awoken twice for this nonsense.. I don’t need any alert that expects me to get dressed and look for this kid..
ummmm says
@ m&m: I don’t recall any part of the alert message that included instructions telling me (or anyone for that matter) to get up, get dressed, or form/ join a search party. The alert message was asking those that had information that might help law enforcement find the child to contact the Sheriffs office.
And the great thing- it worked! Within in an hour the child was located & returned home.
May you never experience the terror or fear of not knowing whether someone you love is missing, alive, well, or dead.
Christina Pinto says
I’m glad to have received that call. I believe no matter what time you receive a call from Code Red it is well worth it if it saves a life rather it is a child, an adult from a storm, kidnapping, etc. Way to go FCSO.
jack stewart says
To call residents at that time of morning..to alert them a 14 year old has not come home ..is just stupid….what did they expect us to do..go out and look for him..I am glad he is safe ..and back home…..but the majority of seniors living in Palm Coast….don’t need to be awake to tell then that a young boy hasn’t returned home yet…..get real use the emergency system for what it was designed for…..oh if my kitty dosnt come home on time..I hope to wake you all up….
Nikia says
I was personally relieved to know why helicopters were flying over my house. I was also concerned for the family when I received the call. Thank you Flagler County for a job well done.
NortonSmitty says
Look, I’m going to re-post this because the most important thing of this whole story is the poor kid who is at the center of this incident,and he probably never saw it. He has been thrust into the center of this tempest in a teapot and must be wondering how a simple walk to clear his head and look at the ocean set loose this chattering shitstorm:
I am so glad the News in our little town of Bridgeville, PA only came out once a week on a six page rag that had 4 1/2 pages of ads. Otherwise I would have had my hormonal wanderings where “nobody understood and you had to get away from EVERYBODY for a while until you could deal with things” spread all over town and would have had to immediately do it all over again. Of course a week or so later I had to do it all over again anyhow.
But it would have been harder with this kind of exposure. And statistics prove it actually was way more dangerous for kids and everybody back in th 60′s no matter what the TV tells you, so was this alert really necessary after just a few hours? I don’t know.
But if your reading this kid, it really ain’t that big a deal. Believe it or not, you are normal. And life will get better for you. In a year or two, you will probably even get a little mud for your turtle. And trust me, shit will be good.
confidential says
My boyfriend went missing and when I notified cops they just laughed about it and the only people looking we’re friends and family and when he was found it was too late. So yeah I was one of those pissed off people when I heard the kid “got in a little fight with his mommy” and the whole freaking town was looking for him after what, like an hour?
De says
I for one was glad the call came through. I was one of the people that had seen the boy earlier in the day. If it had not been for the call I would not have been aware of his disappearance. I was able to provide them with a time and location. The phone call about him being home gave me and I am sure others peace of mind.
People like to complain, however if the boy had not showed up officials would have been blamed for not acting quick enough. As for it being a teenager, we do not know his health status, nor do we know his state of mind.
We need to stop being a society that is only concern with our discomforts, it is not as if they are making calls every night.
De says
The article did states there were health issues.
Diana L says
It makes me feel good to live in an area where we value and worry about each other. As far as re-electing former Sheriff Don Fleming, wasn’t he voted out because of improper conduct? Worrying about a teenager is a whole lot different than questionable behavior.
Tired says
I don’t know what the protocol is and am not educated enough about this to determine if this was or was not a good reason to use CodeRED. However, I know if it was my child I’d surely appreciate the call being made. You just never know who might get it and can help with the situation. My biggest concern here however, is that it’s been over a year since I signed up for CodeRED with Flagler County. This is the FIRST call that I have ever received. The true concern of the county should be to test this regularly and make sure that everyone that is signed up actually receives these calls. I certainly could have used a warning about the tornado since my son was volunteering at the race the evening of the tornado and was left out at the trail head on Colbert Lane by the City of Palm Coast race officials. Fortunately, we’ve done okay this past year without the vital alerts but I sure hope the system is working properly with storm season just around the corner. Thank you for sharing the data FlaglerLive. Is there somewhere that we can check this periodically on our own to make sure we’re still active? Thanks!
I/M/O says
The 24 hour rule has never applied to missing children. A Missing child is and should always be a First Priority situation.
A job well done by Sheriff Manfree and his Officers.
Call me anytime you have a Missing Child. You will never interrupt my life when a child’s life could be at risk.
m&m says
Own up to it Manfre, that was STUPID…
Greg says
EVERY PARENT IN FLAGLER COUNTY THAT HAS HAD A CHILD RUN AWAY FROM HOME BECAUSE THEY WERE MAD OR COME HOME LATE FROM SCHOOL IN THE PAST AND NOW MORE IMPORTANTLY IN THE FUTURE SHOULD EXPECT THE SAME TREATMENT!!!
Mario says
The morning after this happened, I removed our home phone from the code red alert system. I too did not appreciate having my family woken up twice, for a teenager who was late getting home. If they did that for every child who didn’t arrive on-time, our phones would be ringing off the hook. The fact that this child had a fight with a parent and left the house mad, should have been a pretty strong indicator to law enforcement that foul play was not involved. That is why a person is not considered missing, until they are gone for 24 hours. OK, so law enforcement could have reduced that by half, say 12 hours, and still been on the safe side.
My primary concern here is the fact that they notified 55,000 people. If my child goes missing for a few hours, I would not want that information to be sent out to 55,000 people. I would not want 55,000 people to have a full physical description of my child, what they are wearing and where they were last seen. What is preventing someone from going out to search for them, who doesn’t have the child’s best intentions in mind? Are we assuming that everyone of those 55,000 people can be trusted with our children? I don’t think so. This really worries me.
We pay the Flagler Sheriffs office to handle these matters. How much time did they spend looking for the child before they sent out this detailed message to 55,000 people? What did they expect 55,000 people to do? What was the real benefit of this, i.e.: did this code red alert result in the child being located by one or more of these 55,000 people? Did someone actually get out of bed, get dressed, get in their car, and go our searching for this child? Did the parents or the family, or close friends, go out looking for their child, or did they just call the Sheriffs office and expect everyone else to do their job?
I believe there is a better way to handle these matters, rather than bulk distribution to a mass population of highly personal information about a child walking around alone at night. If the Sheriffs office needs help from the citizens of Flagler County in search and recovery matters, then they should assemble a team of individuals who are trained, certified and have criminal background and sex offender checks performed, at a minimum.
Gary says
Good post Mario! Funny thing is when we had that tornado go through Palm Coast I never got a call. But, for a missing boy I got four calls and am email. GO FIGURE?
The Doctor says
A little education is in order. If you want a call for a tornado sign up to get them. There have been numerous articles in the newspapers and online that you have to sign up to get the alerts.
Gary says
I been signed up for tornado alerts (weather) alerts for over five years. Who needs the education now! Just asking….
Seminole Pride says
They way over reacted. I remember when I was 14 years old. I would leave my house at 7:00 am and go surfing all day and come home at dark. Be gone for 14 to 16 hours. Parents are way over protected of there kids today. No wonder kids grow up very immature.
Wolley Segap says
“We were getting hundreds of phone calls in the communications center an hour in reference to tips as to where the kid might be,” Guthrie said,
Is there a way to confirm the hundreds of phone calls an hour? Somehow I’m thinking that at is a very inflated statement.
Amber says
I would like to know where everybody is getting this 24 hour rule before law enforcement does something. The law requires that law enforcement take any and all reports immediately when it is reported that a child is missing. Doesn’t matter if the child is 5, 10, or 17 they must take a report and look for the child and within 2 hours the child must be entered into the national database as missing.
As far as the 55,000 resident who received the phone call, did they go out and actually look for the child? Maybe a few but probably not many. Was there a chance the child was in someone’s home visiting a friend and the adults home were unaware the child was missing? Very possible.
937.021 Missing child and missing adult reports.
(4)(a) Upon the filing of a police report that a child is missing by the parent or guardian, the Department of Children and Family Services, a community-based care provider, or a sheriff’s office providing investigative services for the department, the law enforcement agency receiving the report shall immediately inform all on-duty law enforcement officers of the missing child report, communicate the report to every other law enforcement agency having jurisdiction in the county, and within 2 hours after receipt of the report, transmit the report for inclusion within the Florida Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center databases. A law enforcement agency may not require a reporter to present an order that a child be taken into custody or any other such order before accepting a report that a child is missing.
D. F. A. says
OMG, finally someone else who will research a topic before they speak foolishly. Thank you Amber. I was just about to post the Florida law concerning missing juveniles. Thank you to the FCSO and EOC staff members who worked hard to find this young man. I am happy it all turned out to be okay. Sheriff Manfre and Mr. Guthrie please tell me you will stand behind the decision(s) your people made that night.
Greg says
Seriously? This was the worst decision possible. The kid never even met the requirements of an Amber Alert. This was a waste of our tax dollars…oh unless you’re friends with the Sheriff…then he’s more than happy to waste tax payer dollars on special interest friends and families….
maryann says
Damned if you do and Damned if you don’t – bunch of whining complaining babies. Clearly you missed the part of the article where it states due to privacy laws theres health conditions relating to this that prevent that information to be released but prompted the calls. What if the calls didn’t come and something happened – then everyone would be on here BITCHING about how they don’t do anything and it takes too long to get stuff done. Shut up – listen to the call for the whole 1.13 minutes it took and it could possibly save someones life. Are you people really this freaking uncaring that you would prefer NOT to get this call. Parents are way to overprotective???? There’s alot of crappy individuals out there – better to be safe than sorry! I got both calls. And on my way home from dinner – I paid closer attention to the roads as we drove home, which ordinarily I may not have done. SELFISHNESS – you’re all selfish!
A.S.F. says
Gee, Maryann, would you have been just as self-righteous if a elderly person had gotten a heart attack hearing the phone ring at 11:30 PM/12 AM at night, just to let us all know that this young man had been found? That couldn’t wait until morning? Many of us have experienced late night telephone calls as being attached to bad news of a personal nature. It is very alarming and disorienting. Common sense and courtesy should still be applied to these sorts of actions. If this young man was vulnerable for any special reason, I hope his parents will seek out and receive the help they need to forestall any further problems from repeating themselves in the future.
confidential says
Correct Maryann! Good job Sheriff Manfre!