An Amber Alert for a missing 1-year-old didn’t include a location; expert says that wasn’t an error

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - An Amber Alert was issued for 1-year-old Soull Minnehan Tuesday after authorities say he was taken from the Columbus area by 51-year-old William Hannah.

Officials activated an Amber Alert for cell phones around the state.

Perhaps your phone sounded loudly.

But the location was left out.

That left people wondering that was a mistake or intentional?

An Amber Alert expert we talked to said there are many things to consider when it comes to Amber Alerts.

“It is critical to get it out as soon as possible & get the word out to the public,” said John Majoy, Newburgh Heights’ police chief and also the Chair of the Northeast Ohio Amber Alert Committee.

Majoy told 19 News there’s a limited amount of space for the information they can send out.

Emergency Alert System broadcasts go out over radio. The broadcast is extremely short: only 10 to 15 seconds in duration.

“In a perfect world, they would be able to go and say everything that needs to be said, but the problem is there’s limitations on these things,” he said.

But Majoy he doesn’t think they forgot to put the location in the alert.

He wants everyone to understand that he doesn’t think authorities made a mistake in a rush.

Luckily, the baby was found last night… a disaster averted.

Copyright 2021 WOIO. All rights reserved.