BLOOMFIELD, IOWA -- UPDATED - 4/21/2011 @ 3:15 p.m.
The Bloomfield Police Department said Tuesday afternoon that the report of a run away child that prompted an emergency code red call to a majority of the city's residents was, in fact, accurate.
Police have confirmed that an eight-year-old girl had run away from home late Monday night. She returned home a few hours later unharmed.
Most Bloomfield residents received an automated phone call around 1 a.m. on Tuesday. The call stated that the Bloomfield Police Department had received a report from a resident of a possible runaway girl.
The call caused some confusion, being police had received no reports from any parent concerning a missing or runway child, and some were uncertain if a child was missing at all.
However, by early Tuesday afternoon, a Bloomfield parent did report to police that their child had runaway from home for a short time but did return home.
Residents in Bloomfield got an early wake up call Tuesday morning after the code red system put out an alert saying that a child was missing.
According to the Bloomfield Police Department, a resident called in saying that he saw a child outside his home.
The caller identified the child as a girl named Destiny. At that point, Chief Shawn Armstrong activated the emergency code red system.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the department has had no report of a missing child being called in by their parents and/or guardians.
As you can imagine, many in the community were not happy with being woken up in the early hours of the morning; but law enforcement and county officials believe the code red system is an effective tool for getting out information in a quick manor.
Residents can place their name or have their name taken off the system by contacting the law center in Davis County.