This "Amber Alert" message has been emailed to a bunch of people.. I got it from several Riverview folks:
To: A FRIENDS & FAMILY
Subject: amber alert..please forward
Please be on the lookout for this precious little boy,
The mother of this child is a member of the Victory Church on Brick Church Pike. Please forward…. You never know who knows somebody!!!! !
Please Forward!
Missing 4 year Old Boy -
You never know, who knows whom
Another child missing.
Please forward to everyone you know.
Her family needs your help finding him.
PLEASE HELP US BY FORWARDING THIS EMAIL UNTIL THIS REACHES A WORLD-WIDE AUDIENCE AND JERAMIAH IS RETURNED HOME SAFELY
David Gleaves (father) – 615-862-8269
Princess Ladd (mother) – 615-977-9653
Danyell Renwick (aunt) – 615-554-0213
Margoretta Ladd (aunt) 615-596-0132
Latesia Appleton (aunt) 615-578-5388
GOD FIRST, PEOPLE
If this was your child you would forward it.
HERE ARE THE PROBLEMS I HAVE ABOUT THIS SO-CALLED AMBER ALERT:
First of all, there is NO description of the child, there is NO picture attachment of the child, there is no FULL name given for the child, and the child is NOT listed with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on its Tennessee Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children. Proper procedure is to notify police about a missing child, and they will post a picture, description and other information on the TBI website:
http://www.ticic.state.tn.us/Missing_Children/miss_child.htm (copy and paste this link into your browser's address window, to see what I'm talking about). Police will also notify the news media.
Is there some reason why this family has not contacted the police?
Secondly.. in the TO: line.. A Friends and Family? Is that really a misspelling? In my consumer investigative stories, the first thing I have found out about Nigerian scam artists, is that none of them have command of the King's English.
Thirdly.. Brick Church Pike is in Nashville (my aunt lives near there), and there are a bunch of Nashville area code 615 telephone numbers in the notice listed for for you to call, BUT NOT ONE OF THEM IS TO THE METRO NASHVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
Fourth.. the "reaching a world-wide audience" thing bothers me. With 4-year-old Caylee Anthony down in Florida, are the cops searching for her in Paris, Bombay or Tokyo? No. They think they found her remains a few blocks from her grandparents' house.
And finally, the clincher.. the tell-tale sign of a scam. This one comes at the end of the notice.. "If this were your child, you would forward it." It sounds to me like somebody is wanting you to send them money, knowing that Christmas is the gullible time of year that suckers will give people money because of that soft spot everybody gets around the holiday.
I am checking into this "amber alert," if that's what it is, because I do not want my people taken for a ride.
DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS THING, UNTIL I HAVE CHECKED IT OUT.
What I find out, you will see it here.
I hesitated to post it at all because of the above red flags, but since it has made the rounds to a lot of good people, I am compelled to find out for your sake, if it is legitimate.
-- Calvin
