CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — After an Amber Alert was sent out across landlines in the early morning hours Sunday for a missing 5-year-old boy in East Cleveland, the system is changing, according to Cuyahoga County officials.
The county received the request from East Cleveland police to issue an Amber Alert around 10:45 p.m. Saturday and the alert was sent at 10:48 p.m., officials said.
The boy was found safe, dropped off by his mother to a family member and returned to his custodial parents.
While Amber Alerts are almost expected on mobile phones and can be opted out of on the phone’s settings, many News 5 viewers said they received the alert over their landline phones around 3 a.m. Sunday, while receiving another alert around 5 a.m. stating that the Amber Alert had been canceled.
The early morning alert upset many as landline alerts do not provide an opt-out option.
Cuyahoga County officials said they will no longer use the reverse 911 landline feature to issue or cancel Amber Alerts.
Those with landline numbers will be able to hear Amber Alerts on the radio and television when they are broadcast, county officials said.
As was the case before, those who don’t want to receive Amber Alerts on their cell phones can follow their carrier’s instructions to turn off such emergency notifications.
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