CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After Amber Alerts were not sent to mobile devices two days in a row, NBC Charlotte looked into why the messages were not sent to the Wireless Emergency Alert system.
At 12:15 a.m. Tuesday morning, an Amber Alert release went out for Aziyah Sana'a Garner and Dior Muhammad. It was canceled hours later, but the loud automatic alert was never sent to phones. The two children were believed to have been abducted by two people -- one of whom is a wanted suspect in a murder.
So why wasn't an Amber Alert sent out to mobile phones?
NBC Charlotte pushed the Amber Alert to our mobile app and on social media, but the familiar, loud emergency alert wasn't pushed on mobile devices statewide, and officials say it likely has to do with when it occurred.
Per the state of North Carolina, Amber Alerts will not be sent out via phone between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
In this instance, both children were found safe, hours apart.
In addition to notifying the public about missing children through Amber Alerts, Wireless Emergency Alerts are used to warn about dangerous weather and other national bulletins, based on if mobile devices are located in the 'zone' of the emergency.