By Carol Robinson
AL.com
A Blount County teen was found safe after he was reported missing Friday afternoon, and authorities say new technology helped quickly bring the boy home.
Oneonta police were dispatched about 3 p.m. Friday to the boy’s home on Valley Court after receiving a 911 call. Once they arrived on the scene, officers issued a lookout bulletin with the teen’s description.
Simultaneously, authorities issued the description into Nixle, which is the county’s new mass notification system, said Blount 911 Director Caleb Branch. Within four minutes off issuing the Nixle notification, dispatchers at Blount 911 had spotted the teen on their tower camera and had also received two calls from residents saying they had gotten the notification via text message.
After receiving the text notification, the residents told them, they spotted the boy close to the intersection of U.S. Highway 231 and First Avenue. The teen was found unharmed and was returned to his family.
Blount started using Nixle earlier this month, and Branch said this was the first time Nixle has been used in Blount County to help find a missing person. Previously, the system has been used to locate stolen vehicles, out-of-control drivers, and robbery suspects via its camera in Oneonta.
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