Kara Alongi, a 16-year-old girl from Clark, New Jersey is missing. The young girl took to Twitter to alert her followers that there was an intruder in her house. Her family came home to find her missing. Now Kara's name is a trend on Twitter as thousands try to get the word out in hopes that Alongi is found safe.
At around 6p.m. on Sunday, Alongi tweeted this message: ""There is somone in my hour ecall 911." The teen was trying to write that there was someone in her house.
When her parents came home after her younger brother's sporting event, her parents reportedly found that she was missing. Clark Police are now on the search for the teen and they have listed Alongi as a missing person. Officers and a canine unit are trying to find Alongi.
The police investigated the house and took photos. There are no signs of a break in at the house, so police are not sure if she was kidnapped or if she ran away.
"We still don't know whether she ran away or if there was any foul play. There are no obvious signs of a break-in and the home was not ransacked. The door was open. Kara, if you see this, please contact your parents or Clark Police. You will not be in trouble. We are concerned for your safety," Clark Police Chief Alan Scherb told the Patch.
Chief Scherb believes that a kidnapping was unlikely and that she is not in danger. "We don't feel any foul play was involved," Scherb said. "There was nothing disturbed inside the home."
Alongi's grandmother said that it is not like Kara to run away.
Chief Scherb told the Patch that the canine unit picked up Kara's scent and searched around the neighborhood, but the scent was lost. Police did not say if her phone was in the home, but a twitter user said her phone was found on the floor.
News about Alongi's disappearance quickly became a trend on Twitter as her name and the hashtag #helpfindkara was tweeted by thousands as they try to spread awareness around the social media site so that Alongi may be found safe. They are also sharing her photo and checking her twitter account for updates but there is no update since her call for help tweet.
Some examples of tweets include:
"This is so messed up. Please pray #helpfindkara"
"Totally regret getting on twitter tonight, got me all creeped out but, #HelpFindKara"
Some are wondering if Alongi wrote the tweet as a way to get attention. News of her possible kidnapping caused tens of thousands of people to follow her Twitter account so they can see if she writes any updates, indicating she's safe. She now has over 80,000 followers.
"#helpfindkara is she really kidding or was that fake? Wah I need to know"
"Cant believe @KaraAlongi went from 40k to 79k followers when she isn't even really missing. Wtf people. #helpfindkara"
This photo is also being shared as Twitter users said she wrote a tweet saying it was a joke and then deleted it. However the photo is photoshopped and Alongi hasn't made any updates. If it were real, the tweet number would have changed to 967, but it remains at 966.
For a while, the hashtag #karaisfound was trending as twitter user @JetNationAppy wrote "All these hash tags saying help find Kara finally got to the kid napper.. His guilt built up and now he is turning himself in. Thanks every1." He went on to say that he has family that work for the Clark police department, but in a prior tweet, he admitted that he doesn't even know where Clark, NJ is.
Alongi is still missing.
Kara Alongi is about 5 ft, 3 in., 105 pounds and has blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen wearing a blue Aurthur L. Johnson HS (ALJ) sweatshirt.
Police continue to interview Alongi's friends and search the neighborhood. If you have any information about Alongi, call the Clark Police at 732-388-3434.
UPDATE: Police do not believe that Alongi was abducted.
"She is currently still missing, but we are now confident she left voluntarily," Scherb told Patch. "No abduction, no foul play. We are now investigating this as a missing runaway juvenile."
Police found that a cab was called to Alongi's house around the same time that the tweet was sent. A cab driver confirmed that he picked her up and brought her to the Rahway Train Station. Alongi has not contacted her family or police.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
