Missing 3-Year Old Found Safe In Beaver Dam

The excitement of flashing lights and the sound of sirens was apparently too intriguing for a 3-year old Beaver Dam toddler early Monday morning.

The child wandered away from a Beaver Dam apartment after seeing the lights and hearing the sirens. Once the child left the home, they became disoriented and managed to enter another unlocked apartment.

Beaver Dam police officers were called out about 12:30 a.m. Monday morning to Knaup Drive and quickly located the child, who was then reunited with family.

The Beaver Dam PD says the incident has been resolved and there is no further investigation required.

As part of that response, the Dodge County Communications Center utilized its automated alert phone system with the intention that it would be sent only to residents in the immediate vicinity of the incident.  Unfortunately, due to a technical issue, the alert was distributed to a much larger area than intended.  This prompted many residents to contact the Sheriff’s Office with concerns about the incident or wondering why they were receiving the alert, especially if they lived some distance from the area.  

Both the Beaver Dam Police Department and the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office wish to extend a sincere apology to anyone who received this alert inadvertently and were disturbed by the phone call in any way.  We are working with the provider of the service to resolve the technical issue to ensure it works as intended in the future.

These types of technological advancements are crucial for alerting the public in any number of emergency types, including significant weather events, major law enforcement incidents or any event that requires the ability to quickly and efficiently reach large areas with emergent information.