CLARK – Police are searching for a missing teen who was last seen yesterday evening when a cab driver dropped her off at the Rahway Train Station, according to a statement released this morning by Clark Police Chief Alan Scherb.
Kara Alongi, 16, posted a message to her Twitter account saying “There is somone in my hour ecall 911” last night at 6:12 p.m., inspiring thousands of people to spread the original message in hopes of helping authorities to find her. That message appears to be a hoax.
Alongi was home alone at the time, according to Scherb’s statement. Her parents called authorities when they returned home about an hour later and saw that she was not there.
“Police responded immediately. K-9 units tracked Kara’s scent from the back door of the house, through a neighbor’s yard and then to the sidewalk and around the corner back onto her block where the scent goes cold,” Scherb said in the statement.
“The investigation quickly revealed a number of inconsistencies in the teen’s statement. Specifically it was discovered that a person called a local taxi company asking for a car at Alongi’s address around the same time the Twitter message was posted. Later, the driver positively identified Alongi as the fare he picked up and said he drove her to the Rahway Train Station, dropping her off a few minutes later,” Scherb continued.
“There has been no activation of the Amber Alert system. This is being treated as a missing person’s case and not necessarily a criminal investigation,” Scherb added.
“Kara might feel that she will be in trouble if she comes home after this scare and causing a panic. At this point all everyone cares about is seeing her safe and at her house where she belongs,” the Clark Police Chief concluded.
Anyone with information about Alongi’s whearabouts is encouraged to contact the Clark Police Department or send an anonymous tip to the Union County Crime Stoppers at 908-654-TIPS, www.uctip.org or Text UCTIP plus a message to 274637.
As of 10:30 a.m. today, Alongi’s Twitter account had more than 94,000 followers.
Several Facebook pages have also been created, including “Help Find Kara Alongi” which had more than 5,100 “likes” this morning.
