Amber Alert message was false alarm

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- A mistake on a test of Oklahoma's Amber Alert system Thursday left had some television viewers scrambling when it declared a ``civil emergency.'' <br><br>Gene Thaxton

Thursday, December 26th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- A mistake on a test of Oklahoma's Amber Alert system Thursday left had some television viewers scrambling when it declared a ``civil emergency.''

Gene Thaxton with the state Department of Public Safety says the agency sends the alerts and media outlets are responsible for broadcasting the correct information.

Thaxton says Cox Cable mistakenly aired a message declaring a civil emergency instead of an Amber Alert test.

Department of Civil Emergency Management spokeswoman Michaelann Ooten says 911 operators in Oklahoma City received several calls from concerned residents.