Mother and Son Helped Locate Missing Man

A quick-to-act mother and her son, an alert jogger, helped the case of a missing elderly man come to a swift resolution Tuesday morning.

When Merrimack Police were alerted that possibly for several very cold hours early in the morning of Feb. 5, they reached out to the community for help in locating him as quickly as possible.

In addition to sending out a Nixle text and email alert to subscribers, they also activated the "A Child is Missing Alert System" – phone call notification program, which alerted approximately 1,000 residents nearby Tierney's home to the situation.

Police say it was after that call that a nearby resident gave Tierney's description to her son and asked him to go out for a jog and keep an eye out for the 5'5", 130 pound man with gray hair, brown eyes and a long beard.

"Within a short period of time and within close proximity to the male’s residence, the jogger heard a male calling for help from a wooded area," a press release from Lt. Denise Roy said. "The jogger was able to notify police officers who were in the area searching for (Tierney), and direct them to his location."

Within a half hour of police alerting the public regarding Tierney's disappearance, they sent out a second alert indicating he had been located.

"If not for the mother and her son who went out on a jog, the outcome may have been drastically different for this man," Roy said in the release.

Using "A Child is Missing" and Nixle.com alerts, Merrimack Police are able to tap into the community as resources to help in emergency situations, such as Tierney's, and have found great success in doing so.

Last February, Nixle alerts and hawk-eyed residents helped police located two missing girls – Julia and Molly, both 7 – and another missing man – Robert Higgins, 87 – who went disappeared from their homes within a week of each other.

Nixle is also used regularly by police to alert resident to accidents, road closures, power outages and more. It's an especially handy tool to be registered for during a storm. Registration is free however standard text messaging rates apply if you choose that notification option. Register at Nixle.com.

According to Roy's press release, "A Child is Missing" has also assisted police on numerous occasions with successfully locating children and adults.

The program will automatically contact your home telephone number in the area that is given by the local police, but for those who would like to have your mobile devices alerted, register it on the A Child is Missing website.

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