JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. -- Police wasted no time reaching out to the community to help solve a possible abduction.
A witness called the Jacksonville Beach police department Thursday morning reporting that a teen was forced into a vehicle and abducted.
Turns out, it was a domestic dispute between a mother and daughter on their way to Fletcher High School.
Minutes after the call came in, police issued a reverse 911 call to everyone within a mile and a half of 1st Avenue North and 8th Street North.
Sgt. Tom Crumley tells Action News the program, FirstCall, enables police to reach out to a wide range of possible witnesses.
Neighbor David Noel was one of many who got the automated message from police.
"I got the report that somebody had been abducted and they wanted everybody to be aware of what was going on."
The call to Noel's home turned out to be a false alarm. Still, Sgt. Crumley says it proved the system worked. He says the father picked up the phone and told police the situation wasn't criminal activity.
"It is very reassuring," said Crumley. "We know our efforts are not being wasted. It generated a lot of phone calls and a lot of leads."
FirstCall is used for a wide range of public alerts, from serious crimes such as abductions to health alerts like boil-water orders.
