Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Broken Arrow Police Work Together To Find Missing Teen

The Broken Arrow Police Department says a missing 13-year-old boy is safe after the department received help from OHP Monday night.

Broken Arrow Police say it's not uncommon for them to get reports of a missing kid, but details in Sunday night's case led police to believe the teen was in danger, prompting a Cell Phone Alert across the Tulsa Metro.

If you live in the Tulsa Area, chances are you got an alert on your phone Sunday night asking for help locating a missing teenager from Broken Arrow.

"There was an element to the investigation that led us to believe the juvenile was potentially in danger," said Captain Josh McCoy.

He says they worked with OHP's Child Abduction Response Team to get vital information about the teen. Even though he was not abducted, the unit helped them figure out that the boy’s health and safety were in danger, prompting the alert.

"It just brought more eyes and awareness to what was going on here locally here in Broken Arrow looking for this juvenile who was ultimately found over in Tulsa," said McCoy.

Alerts like the one sent out Sunday night involve the entire community during a time of crisis. Sarah Stewart with the Department of Public Safety says they don't take these alerts lightly.

"We know that sometimes that can be inconvenient, ya know, to have your phone go off and get that information, but just encourage people to think about what if you had a loved one that went missing. I think you'd want as many people on the lookout for your loved one as possible," said Stewart.

She says of the 73 alerts they've sent out since 2022 regarding missing and endangered people, 67 people were found safely. Stewart says the alerts play a role in at least some of the cases.

"We believe that these alerts work. We believe they're doing what they're supposed to do."

It's another tool for police to help bring a happy outcome to a stressful situation.

DPS says it is possible to turn off the notifications like the one sent out Sunday night, but they encourage people to keep them on.