Cheshire Police Explain Decision to Use CodeRED Notification in Missing Person Case

From the Cheshire Police Department

Last night (Oct. 26) at approximately 11:30 p.m., the Town of Cheshire initiated the automated emergency notification system (CodeRED) to make phone calls providing information about a potentially life-threatening incident involving an endangered missing person and to request the assistance of the community.

The decision to initiate this system, at that late hour, was done after much consideration with regards to the inconvenience it would create for the residents of the community. It was decided that the need to provide this information to the public, with the anticipation of gathering any available information from all resources, outweighed this temporary inconvenience.

The Town of Cheshire understands that when citizens’ receive late night phone calls, they immediately perceive the worst with regards to their own family. This was the situation for the loved ones of the person that had gone missing last night.

It was due to the use of CodeRed that the Cheshire Police Department received information from the community that lead to the successful location of the missing, endangered person last night.

The use of this system is not a routine procedure, as there are strict guidelines that regulate CodeRed use.

Only when these parameters are met, and the exigency of the situation calls for it, will the system be initiated. In this situation, the system was only activated after canine searches/tracks and the Connecticut State Police Trooper 1 utilizing FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) were unsuccessful in locating the person.

Should individuals wish to add, remove, or change their contact numbers to the CodeRed system; there are links on the Town website (www.cheshirect.org) to accomplish this task.

As a reminder, should you remove your number you will not be contacted should an emergency arise that could immediately affect you, your family, your friends, or your neighborhood. As always, we thank our community for their understanding and continued support.

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