While many believe AMBER Alerts to your phone don’t really work, this quick-thinking group of friends just proved why everyone should keep their eyes peeled at all times. Now, they’re being regarded as heroes after a viral interaction led to the safe return of a baby girl.
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Authorities in Prince George’s County, Md. launched an alert to locate a one-year-old girl. According to a post from Prince George’s Police Department (PGPD), baby Day-Rene Collins was last seen on the morning of Saturday (Aug. 30) with her relative, Shannon Collins. PGPD also released a photo of “a Gray 2022 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport with Maryland Tags” and urged folks to call police if they spot the vehicle.
That same day, a group of friends were driving on the highway when they spotted a car matching the exact same description. Then, they acted fast. At least one person starting recording the car, which has now turned into a viral TikTok.
“Yesterday, me and my friends got an AMBER alert and the car was right in front of us,” the caption of the video wrote. Eventually, the vehicle drove past them and stopped at a red light right in front of the group, allowing them to get a good look at the license plate. The friends were in shock– even screaming “what the f**k–” after realizing the car matched the police description. Still, they called the police just as the alert instructed.
The next clip in the TikTok showed PGPD catching up to the vehicle and stopping the driver, 36-year-old Shannon. “All thanks to us,” one person in the group said as they recorded Shannon’s arrest. “Yeah, cuz why you kidnapping kids,” another shouted.
Around 2:30p.m. that day, PGPD announced both one-year-old Collins and Shannon had be “located safely.” They later thanked an unnamed good Samaritan who was responsible for calling in the tip.
Also in the TikTok caption, user @umwhat74, who was one of the friends in the car, clarified the post was not to gain clout. “I posted this because it was such a crazy experience,” she said. “We were actually worried about the child.” The video now has 16.3 million views on the app.
In the comments, folks gave the group props for saving the day. “The chances of this happening to yall was so low thank you for saving that baby,” @padfootscrew wrote.
Another user, @i.feel.so.old.on.tik.tok, said, “When people joke about amber alerts saying ‘what you want me to do?’ This! They are for that one random person who just happens to be right there at the right time. Thank you for saving that child!”
“Everyone gets so annoyed by amber alerts and says they’re ‘pointless’ but if everyone actually PICKED THEIR HEAD UP and looked around, more of these poor children might be found,” @yowassupitsalli responded.
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