A Golden Alert, that was the subject of much controversy on Saturday morning, June 3, 2023 of a man missing, has now been resolved.
Jason Alita, 43 years old of Richmond has been found safe earlier this Sunday June 4, according to authorities.
Madison County Emergency Management systems first issued a vague alert around 4;30 Saturday morning, with no specific information. This caused much alarm, confusion and anger among many residents.
EMA released this extensive response to the criticisms later Saturday:
Early this morning, Madison County Emergency Management Agency was requested to issue a Golden Alert for Mr. Jason Alita by Madison County Sheriff’s Office. EMA Staff immediately responded to the request by setting up a Golden Alert message for distribution over the Emergency Alert System (EAS), which sends alerts to television, radio, and cell phones in a designated area.
The alert message included a statement of a local area emergency, followed by Golden Alert details such as description and time last seen. However, the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) message that appeared on Madison County resident cell phones came through incomplete and did not contain details.
Alert information on the FEMA App and over television and radio mediums appeared complete, even though alert information on cell phones did not.
Updates were later added when more information was available to include the last seen location of 615 Augusta Drive in Richmond, as well as a photo of Mr. Alita.
At this time, the reason for a partial text over WEA to cell phones is unknown. Madison County EMA realizes that an early morning alert with little detail is highly concerning to residents; subsequently, local, state and federal staff for Emergency Management and related agencies have been diligently working since the alert this morning to identify the problem and determine next steps for solutions. The second WEA received by cell phones around 7:30AM was initiated by Kentucky Emergency Management after being contacted by Madison County EMA regarding our incomplete alert message issue.
Again, we realize the alert was alarming and apologize for any unnecessary inconvenience this may have caused. However, we hope all citizens understand the sensitivity of this situation and the importance of keeping our entire community safe. This is what alerts are meant to do and we want to continue to support our first responders in their efforts for community safety. Madison County EMA’s investigation in this situation will continue until we are confident that appropriate solutions have been enacted, tested, and proven acceptable for protecting our community.
