CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Iowa authorities acknowledge Amber Alerts can be jarring, especially when they sound on smartphones before 4 a.m., but they’re urging people not to switch off the notices.
People across Iowa got an early wake-up call on Monday when the Department of Public Safety issued an alert for two children, ages 2 and 4, who were missing from Jefferson.
Police found the children safe at a downtown Des Moines hotel and arrested the 21-year-old babysitter on child endangerment charges.
Several Kirkwood Community College students say they were jolted awake when the alert went off. But they say they didn’t consider it enough of a nuisance to shut off the notices.
Amber Alerts are issued through weather radios and smartphones unless the user switches the notifications off.
