18-07-2025
New Mexico State Police explain middle of the night cell phone alert
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Metro residents were startled awake to a puzzling alert in the middle of the night, and it wasn't an Amber Alert or a weather emergency. While it might have seemed like a mix-up, New Mexico State Police said it's a new system, and it's here to stay. NMSP said this new alert will function like an Amber Alert, but for missing adults, and the system is required under state law.
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The alert was sent by NMSP, sharing information about a 77-year-old man, saying if you see him or his vehicle to call. 'They didn't really say that they were, like, missing or it was, like, a criminal or something. So I was a little confused about that,' said Kimira Hewitt.
The alert was more like what people expect from an Amber Alert, when a child goes missing, but New Mexico State Police said the emergency alert system is now being used for adults. 'I was a little confused, just because you don't usually get them for elderly people,' said Hermitt.
Up until now, when an adult has gone missing, police have sent the legally required alerts through TV, radio, and social media, but state law said they have to send it to cell phones as well. They didn't have the technology for that until now. 'So we couldn't fulfill that statutory requirement, but now that that code has been created and we have access to it, we're statutorily required to send out that alert,' said Sergeant Ricardo Braceda, Public Information Officer, New Mexico State Police.
The new format comes as the FCC created a code for missing elders and other populations who aren't kids. State police said people can expect to receive alerts like Wednesday night's anytime there is a Silver Alert for a missing elderly person, or a Turquoise Alert for a missing native American person.
But many people who received it were frustrated to see it come through in the middle of the night, categorized as an extreme emergency. 'If someone was obviously distressed and we needed to help find them, that was important, but I'm not gonna be helpful at 12:30 in the middle of the night while sleeping,' said Lawing.
Some expressed that it made them want to shut the alerts off overall. 'There may be some alert fatigue, but there's a good reason for why these alerts are being sent. You know, these are we're talking about human lives here,' said Sgt. Braceda.
State police said they are working with the Department of Homeland Security to improve the functionality, like better classifying the urgency and stating clearly that the person is missing. 'With this being a new alert, uh, that's something that we're evaluating with the system that we use, that's in place to ensure that we deliver the necessary information to people,' said Sgt. Braceda.
NMSP said they are the only law enforcement agency in the state so far that can send emergency alerts. They typically can send around 50 silver alerts per year, but there could be more.
It turns out that the missing man, Jose Lujan, had died. NMSP said his body was found because a truck driver received the phone alert and spotted his car.
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