On Sept. 12, the Ramsey County Emergency Communications Center (ECC) team worked diligently to respond to a critical situation involving a missing vulnerable adult from the New Perspective Senior Living residential facility in Arden Hills. The details of our response and the alert system that played a crucial role in resolving the situation are below.
The emergency call
At 6:43 p.m., the ECC received an urgent call reporting a missing vulnerable adult from the New Perspective Senior Living facility at 3565 Pine Tree Dr. in Arden Hills. This initiated a coordinated response involving local agencies, including the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office and the Lake Johanna Fire Department.
Timeline of alerts
8:46 p.m. - first alert
To aid in the search for the missing individual, the ECC issued the first alert via Everbridge, our alerting software system. This message was sent to a focused group within the vicinity of the residential facility and was delivered through email, text messages, and landlines using text-to-speech. It reached residents who had opted in for this service and those listed in our Resident Connect database.
9:45 p.m. - second alert
As the evening progressed, with darkness and colder temperatures, fewer residents were outside to assist. Therefore, Incident Command decided to issue a second, broader alert. This alert targeted most cell phones within the geographic area using the Wireless Emergency Alert system, leveraging cell towers' coverage. It's important to note that delivery times may vary based on carriers and device compatibility.
10 p.m. (approximately) - missing adult found
Thanks to the prompt response from our community and responders, the missing adult was located.
10:08 p.m. - follow-up alert
To update the community about the successful resolution, a follow-up message was sent via Everbridge. However, due to a software quirk, the alert reached a larger area than intended, including some individuals who did not receive the initial message.
10:22 p.m. - alert cancelation
Recognizing the unintended impact, we promptly submitted a "Cancel" request to cease further notifications to cell phones that had not yet received the update, minimizing any disruption to the community.
Ongoing improvements
The ECC is actively working to address the issues with the alert system to prevent such discrepancies in the future. We are in contact with Emergency Communications Network (ECN) at the MN Department of Public Safety, the vendor Everbridge, and, if necessary, the FCC to resolve these concerns. Our commitment to enhancing our processes and providing the best possible training for our staff remains unwavering.