Thanks, Janet. We got one of those "go inside and lock your doors" calls, too. That there has not yet been any sort of "all clear" followup call is perhaps the bigger story here.

that call scared the hell out of me....glad all is well!

3 hour response time? o.0 what the???

7am and still waiting for the all clear call!!! not good

I feel that at least a 'COAST IS CLEAR" response call should have been made after the situation was neutralized! Some people are probably STILL waiting and afraid & nervous in their homes. Especially elderly people or those that do not have computer access. This needs to be adressed!

i agree with katie and gigi. it's unacceptable that no message indicating that the situation has been resolved has been sent! this needs to be corrected. it would not be any harder than sending the first alarming message. it's an irresponsible oversight.

Dan, You ROCK! I agree with you whole-heartedly!

A ten thousand dollar randsom sounds like an amount a kid would come up with. I would have expected an amount in the hundreds of thousands if it were a real ransom! I wouldn't be surprised if this terrible hoax was some kids idea of fun on a hot summer day in the suburbs. (comment by Donna, friend of Gigi)

Wow wow

We really should have gotten the phone call that everything was ok

How about a thank you to the men and women who, risking their own safety, responded to the incident on one of the hottest days of the year. From all accounts the event was handled in a professional manner and no one was injured. That is what is important. Perhaps a call could have been made to say all was taken care of, BUT perhaps you could have looked outside and seen that none of the responders were still there. That would have been a clue that it was over.

first off, todd is (only) partially right:
sincere thanks to all the emegency personnel who responded, and who respond throughout the year. thank you all.

but todd, i COULD NOT look outside to see that none of the responders were still there. my house location did not permit that. since the message i received from the county told me to lock my doors and windows and remain inside until i was informed that it was ok to do otherwise, then a message SHOULD have been sent stating all was secure. so thanks to patch i found out the crisis was over. the county should have informed the community as it said it would do.

but as you state todd, what is important is that fortunately no one was injured by that cat roaming the house...

and i hope the hoaxer(s) are caught, prosecuted, and made to reimburse taxpayers for the cost of the services wasted that day.

and Todd... no offense...but that is there JOB...and the call went out to the whole area many of which can not SEE the incident. I hope some elderly couple isn't still waiting to hear they can leave their home!!!

How about making the phone app that allows one to distort or disguise the originating phone number illegal. There is no legit reason for an app like that, its only use is to allow a coward to harass or threaten someone under the guise of secrecy.

i didn't say that Todd..do not put words into my mouth please....but...they choose to do that as a JOB.....

Dan, blocking a number or calling from a private number is one thing and there may be a good reason for that, but using an app that allows you to change the number that shows up on someone's caller ID has no purpose at all !!!!!!! it should be illegal and probably is! I would think its Harassment!

and, as i stated earlier, i hope the perpetrator of this terrible hoax is discovered and held to account for it. that should include reimbursing the expenses of the responders/agencies who wasted valuable time and resources in what was certainly a tension-filled experience.