Missile Attack False Alarm Gives Oklahoma Parents Scare

A statewide alert in Hawaii instructed people to take shelter in anticipation of a missile attack.

The alert, now known to be a mistake, sent people into a panic, including some folks here at home.

1/13/2018 Related Story: Hawaii Emergency Officials Say Alert Of Ballistic Missile Threat Was Mistake

"Heck of a wakeup call," said Mary Ann Van Curen.

Van Curen lives in Owasso, but her son Alex and daughter-in-law recently moved to Hawaii.

This morning, he called unexpectedly.

"He said turn on the news and I was like "Why?" said Van Curen. 

"The local radio station was saying the same thing the phone said, this was not a test, this was real, take shelter inside," Alex said. 

Van Curen and her son searched for news about an alert but couldn't find any.

"So, I'm trying not to panic but I'm a mom," laughed Van Curen. 

Around the same time, Merle Allison in Bristow got a call from his son.

"It actually said this is not a drill, so they were calling their families to say they loved them in case anything really did happen," Allison said. 

Like Mary Van Curen in Owasso, Allison and his wife spent nearly half an hour wondering if they had just talked to their son for the last time.

"You're thinking, there's nothing we can do at this point," Allison said. 

"Here's the really scary thing, unless the USA intercepts it, there's not much you can do. You can't really hide," Van Curen said. 

Nearly 38 minutes went by until families were given an official all clear; the alert was a mistake.

But Van Curen's son Alex wonders just how grave a mistake for the people of Hawaii this could turn out to be.

"It's like now, what if it does happen and now it's like, how do we know if it's real or not," Alex said.     /