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Police Use Facebook to Tell Mom Her Son Died — and She Doesn’t See Message for Weeks

Feb. 22, 2013 8:53am Liz Klimas

A Georgia mother is upset not only over the death of her 30-year-old son but the method by which she was informed he was killed in a car accident. Police attempted to contact her through a Facebook message, which she didn’t see for weeks.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported Anna Lamb-Creasey of Clayton County explaining that her son, Rickie Lamb, died at 11 p.m. on January 24, but that she didn’t find out until February 14. Why? Because the county police sent a message via Facebook that landed in her box called “other.” AJC continued that Lamb-Creasey said she didn’t open the message because she thought it was spam, reading it was from an unknown sender going by “Misty Hancock” and it seemed to have a photo of an Atlanta rapper.

Clayton County Mom Upset Police Informed Her Through a Facebook Message Her Son Had Died

This message was sent to Lamb-Creasey. (Image: WSBTV screenshot)

Police Sgt. Kevin Hughes said that the investigators did try to reach the family using the traditional methods but couldn’t. He noted to AJC that Rickie Lamb’s identification did not have contact information for his family.

As for the “Misty Hancock” profile, Hughes told AJC it’s an account used by the department in investigations. He wasn’t sure why it was used in this case.

AJC stated that it was Lamb-Creasey’s daughter, who also received the message on Facebook, who was the first to receive the heartbreaking news after she opened it.

“At the end of the day, Facebook helped me find my son, but police could have done a better job of finding me,” Lamb-Creasey told AJC. She said acknowledged that she was in the process of moving but noted they could have found her at her job.

Lamb-Creasey is upset she found out about her son’s death via Facebook after weeks thinking he was missing. (Image: WSBTV screenshot)

The department apologized to the family, but Lamb-Creasey said the amount of time that lapsed was unacceptable.

“It should not have taken 20 days for them to reach me,” she said according to AJC.

Watch this report from WSBTV:

(H/T: Gizmodo)

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Comments (71)

Exiled
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 4:45pm
I don’t understand how some people complain that “big brother” knows everything about you, and yet complain when the police can’t find a working telephone number for a grown man’s mother. The police are not the FBI, and don’t have considerable resources to put into hunting you down.

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- Ghandi was a Republican
  Posted on February 24, 2013 at 4:05am
  Let me help you with it. There are some things that people PUT out there for public consumption, and there are some things that are nobody’s business. It’s not a difficult concept.
  
  Report this comment
- Southernlady76
  Posted on February 25, 2013 at 3:06pm
  well she did state…..they could have found her at her JOB!! they do have detecttives-it can’t be that darn difficult n th-is day and age plus if they found her FB page-surely coulda found some extra information jus saying…put yourself in her shoes-that’s what i alwys try to do.bet they coulda found her if they were looking for her son for something illegal that he had done!
  
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New.World.Fastfood.Order
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 4:35pm
This isn’t that unusual. Would she rather they not contact her at all?

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- Don
  Posted on February 24, 2013 at 1:32pm
  Also posted elsewhere for obvious reasons.
  LAW ENFORCEMENT WHO ARE LOCATED IN STATES SUPPRESSING OUR 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS (LISTEN UP)!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  Any and ALL law enforcement reps from said states please LEAVE that state Immediately!!
  Call any state who supports our 2nd Amendment rights law enforcement agencies to see if they will take you in an give you guys a job. Send these left wing elitist sycophants a REAL message that law enforcement personnel from said stats will NOT tolerate this EXTREME VIOLATION of the Constitution they SWORE to protect. You OWE it to yourselves, to the Constitution AND the people you SERVE to GET out!! I hope many from Law Enforcement see this. Anyone else who reads this please stand with me in calling ALL Law Enforcement to abandon those states that CLEARLY violate our constitutional rights.
  
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Elena2010
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 4:22pm
That is totally messed up!

An officer should have made the notification in person…forget Facebook or even the phone.

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- Exiled
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 4:46pm
  And how is that officer expected to find this woman? With his “big brother” cam that’s tracking the movement of every American?
  
  Report this comment
- READRIGHTHERE
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:14pm
  Why does it matter, 20 days go by and she didn’t call the police? Apparently she was unaware of his lack of contact anyway. Very caring mother, who now is undoubtedly racked with guilt and trying to shift blame to a government agency for not making it possible for her to be awakened to the fact that her son is gone and she was completely unaware. No doubt indicative of the way he was raised and the actual reason for the general lack of knowledge that he was even missing. Meh!
  
  Report this comment
Bamagal0007
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 3:29pm
PAVPAWS…Exactly!

My oldest son lives in Arkansas and we email almost everyday and call once a week.

Some folks priorities are ridiculous.

Happy Weekend!

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everydaywoman
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 3:09pm
I’m am sorry for this woman’s loss but – as many have said – I don’t see where the message informed her of the outcome online. They just left a number. Obviously there’s more to the story. I will say though, I’ve known a few parent who are good parents but their adult children ended up falling into some stupid and dangerous things. You can only reach out and try to help your adult offspring so much. They have to be willing to make the choice to change for themselves.
As far as there being a long period of time between contact with him – I know a couple who hadn’t heard from their adult son for a few months – all the while, they were reaching out and we were lifting him in prayer. When he finally contacted them, they were elated. Not only because he resurfaced but because he decided he wanted to turn his life around. These same parents have other children who have never followed in that son’s past footsteps. We all have choices. We can encourage, we can influence but we can’t make the choice for each other.

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- Mil Mom
  Posted on February 23, 2013 at 2:51am
  @everydaywoman
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 3:09pm
  
  I’m am sorry for this woman’s loss but – as many have said – I don’t see where the message informed her of the outcome online. They just left a number. Obviously there’s more to the story. I will say though, I’ve known a few parent who are good parents but their adult children ended up falling into some stupid and dangerous things. You can only reach out and try to help your adult offspring so much. They have to be willing to make the choice to change for themselves.
  As far as there being a long period of time between contact with him – I know a couple who hadn’t heard from their adult son for a few months – all the while, they were reaching out and we were lifting him in prayer. When he finally contacted them, they were elated. Not only because he resurfaced but because he decided he wanted to turn his life around. These same parents have other children who have never followed in that son’s past footsteps. We all have choices. We can encourage, we can influence but we can’t make the choice for each other
  ***
  Try adult active duty or Reserve activated military, with adult kids and busy schedules, we make attempts but even voice mail or emails don’t always go through, it can be months between real contacts because of their schedules. You pray for them daily and live for that next returned call.
  
  Report this comment
- chips1
  Posted on February 23, 2013 at 2:52pm
  Is her Obama phone disconnected? Bummer.
  
  Report this comment
RedSpotinaBlueState
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 2:54pm
She should sue immediately. In 3…..2…..1

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- Exiled
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 4:49pm
  For what damages? The deceased was a grown adult. I know of no law that REQUIRES the police to notify your mommy if you die – especially if you are 30 years old! Polite, yes, but required? I don’t think so.
  
  Report this comment
Bamagal0007
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:01pm
Sorry, but perhaps you should have tried to call him on his Obama phone A MONTH AGO.

My experience with the Atlanta PD is very positive. Several years ago our truck broke down on the way to the Peach Bowl football game in Atlanta. Even though the traffic was horrible, they spotted us and actually stayed there with us until the tow truck arrived. These guys put their lives on the line everyday in this city, which just in recent years has come down from being the most dangerous city in America.

No matter what, some people will always find a way to blame others for their own shortfalls.

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- pavepaws
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:52pm
  Unless the page shot is misleading,I don’t see anything in the message that says someone died. It says to call a phone number with an officer’s name. That seems an appropriate use of Facebook for this situation since the mother seems to have been unavailable and the son didn’t list her as an emergency contact.
  
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- Elena2010
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 4:25pm
  Wasn’t Atlanta PD; it was Clayton County PD.
  
  Report this comment
- Verceofreason
  Posted on February 24, 2013 at 12:18am
  They just said CALL THIS NUMBER.
  Nothing to see here, No story.
  Everything done was done tastefully and professionally.
  
  Report this comment
PapaKOA
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:49pm
Seriously woman. When you get a message that says it is from the Police Department and it is very important, AT LEAST CALL TO VERIFY. It would have taken her all but 30 seconds to fix her problem.

I get this feeling she hates police and avoided their contact attempts, and then in the long run she tries to use it to make them look bad.

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- The_Jerk
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:04pm
  It’s the ‘do everything for me’ black culture. Look no farther than the pre-Katrina ‘I can not do for myself’ culture.
  
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Lordcsmith
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:30pm
This is the same county where not long ago a police officer chased a suspect onto a public bus and the suspect managed to get the officers gun away from him. While he proceeded to bludgeon the officer with it, the fine folks of Clayton County gathered around chanting “kill the pig!”. The officer managed to mace him and arrest him. As far as the police there are concerned, they should have sent a FB message congratulating this woman on her son taking second place in a knife-fighting contest and left it that.

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- pavepaws
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:53pm
  Oh my.LOL
  
  Report this comment
- READRIGHTHERE
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:16pm
  No joke, but there was a joke in it, funny…but true.
  
  Report this comment
Tri-ox
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:05pm
So what? The police aren’t running a concierge service – if this woman can’t keep track of her family, that’s her problem.

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- loriann12
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:24pm
  Yea, but they can sure trace down that facebook account, can’t they? They couldn’t find out where she worked, but knew they had the right facebook account.
  
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- Exiled
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 4:51pm
  Or maybe they sent that message to everybody with that same name. All it did was ask her to call the number. They said that they had already used other methods to try to find her. No, contrary to your paranoia, Facebook will not release information about their clients without a warrant, and no judge is going to issue a warrant for this reason.
  
  Report this comment
Fitzzz
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 11:58am
I’M sure with just a bit o effort, we can turn this into something racial

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- everydaywoman
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 2:56pm
  Well, with a little help from Jessie Jackson and Sharpton, I’m sure things will get there.
  
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- Biddle
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 3:42pm
  they already started! I have a low tolerance for ignorant racists.
  
  Report this comment
Just_Us2
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 11:53am
I am no fan of police, but if they used conventional means and those failed, then the lady should be happy that Facebook came through for her. Who knows how long her son would have been dead before she found out. It makes me question their relationship. Did he not have his mother’s phone number in his cell phone? Did he have a cell phone? They got her name from somewhere, did she not answer the call when the caller ID said police? Was her address wrong with the DMV? Does she have a license or an ID? I think the police are OK in this situation.

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Ron Staiger
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 11:41am
As a crash investigator for a major metropolitan police department, I have had the unpleasant task of notifying relatives of their loved one’s death. It was ALWAYS done in person by me if they lived in the city or according to the policy of the department of residence if they lived outside the city. To notify someone by phone is an act of cowardice. To notify by facebook is a brutally insensitive act of stupidity.

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- Bamagal0007
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:04pm
  Do you actaully believe they did not try and find her? Please!
  
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- Exiled
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 4:53pm
  I too, have had to hunt down people to notify them of such things. It’s not as easy as you might think. Where do you think the police get information? How would they know if she’s moved or changed her telephone number? If she’s not in the phone book, and she’s never had contact with the PD, then the PD has no clue who or where she might be.
  
  Report this comment
- Kupo
  Posted on February 23, 2013 at 2:46am
  Ron, maybe you missed the little tidbit where she admitted that she was moving at the time and that it could have explained the difficulty in finding her. Kind of hard to make a house call if you don’t know where the house is.
  
  Report this comment
- sta
  Posted on February 25, 2013 at 8:40am
  Perhaps when she called, they would have arranged a meeting? Did you see this part?
  “Police Sgt. Kevin Hughes said that the investigators did try to reach the family using the traditional methods but couldn’t. He noted to AJC that Rickie Lamb’s identification did not have contact information for his family.”
  
  Report this comment
richard hoover
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 11:21am
i think this is crazy but she knows sometimes mistakes happen

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- Exiled
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 4:54pm
  Yes, mistakes happen, but this wasn’t a mistake. They tried to find her. Nothing worked. They left her a message on Facebook, hoping they would have more luck. They did. It’s not like they knew her number and ignored it, and new her address and ignored it.
  
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ColoradoMaverick
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 10:11am
WTF? Obviously, our new generation is in charge!

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- richard hoover
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 11:19am
  i would like to say the police did everything to contact her did she have voicemail on her cellphone did call her son ofton maybe she is not that close true it came in as spam but at least check
  
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- JRook
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 11:42am
  “Police Sgt. Kevin Hughes said that the investigators did try to reach the family using the traditional methods but couldn’t. He noted to AJC that Rickie Lamb’s identification did not have contact information for his family.” Tax reductions have consequences and many of the more resource intensive activities like contacting a family that is not easy found is perhaps one of them. You can’t have it both ways. And you can’t cut taxes, which in turns cuts budgets and then put on the critic hat. There is a cost/quality relationship. If you don’t think so walk through your local Walmart and then walk through Nordstroms.
  
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RaydocX
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:53am
I must be missing something…
the facebook message only asks that they contact the PD.
i don’t see anything about ‘your son is dead.’
so either the mother or the reporter is sensationalizing what happened.
If the PD does not have usual means of contacting family, social media should be an acceptable means of trying to make contact.

i don’t believe this warrants the black mark with which it attempts to paint the department.

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- Melika
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 10:14am
  Yeah, no kidding. What’s really funny is the moron who posted the message using an alias for investigations. How many months of work has been obliterated because of doing that?
  
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- objectivetruth
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 10:39am
  How about they run it on the local TV station.Thats what they do in my area when something like this happens.
  
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Kolchack
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:38am
Seems to me a loving mother would have checked on her son with in the 20 days police were trying to find her…

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- Tortilla
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:45am
  *Like*
  
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LOTO
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:38am
This was 30 year old man not a child. 3 weeks is not that long of time to not have contact.
So critical. America needs to stop worshiping children. Jacob found this out the hard way.
Trying to find a mans mother with a hyphenated last name and no contact info would be nearly impossible in a subdivision let alone a city. I think it was extra effort on the cops part but I do wonder why the fake user name?

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- LOTO
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:42am
  There is probably now a law in the works to check with your Mama every week and requiring you to login to Facebook every day.
  
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- loriann12
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:29pm
  I was a dispatcher in Lake County, IL, when someone turned in a wallet they had fished out of a lake. It still had $5 and 3 driver’s licenses in it, one for a man and 2 for women. I started with the man, couldn’t find him, so I called one of the ladies. The older gentleman was confused as to why the Sheriff’s Dpt was looking for his daughter at his addess. I explained, and he said she had married the man, something like 2 years ago…..the wallet had been underwater for that long. It’s their JOB to look for next of kin.
  
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- Brooke Lorren
  Posted on February 23, 2013 at 1:31am
  I would agree. I love my parents and we get along well; however, we’re pretty busy and live 1800 miles away from them. I do see my dad on Facebook when he gets on, but I sometimes go a while without calling because we’re just busy.
  
  If something happened to me, I think that my husband or kids would call my parents right away though.
  
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Listen_then_think
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:34am
Kid had no father and I am sure was a druggie or a dealer because he was 30, no wife, no kids, no contact information. That is the profile for a drug dealer or user.

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- objectivetruth
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 10:38am
  You don’t know that he had no father.Whether he was married or had kids.He may have had a ex and kids.
  He had no contact information and you think that is an instant profile of a drug dealer?Hate to tell you this some areas of the country are so heavy with ID Theft that many people barely carry enough info to identify themselves.You need to understand that any information in a wallet can and will be used by these freaks.The more sophisticated they are the more likely they are to use your relatives information as well.
  I’ve spent decades being targeted by this method.In my case it was much more complex and sophisticated owing to its true purpose.Not everyone who doesn’t carry contact info is a criminal.Some are protecting themselves and their families from potential criminals.
  Before you begin a barrage of my race don’t.I’m caucasian
  
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- devildogger
  Posted on February 23, 2013 at 12:18am
  Really? How do you know he had no father? Are you psychic? I’m almost 50 and have no wife or kids. My father died in August. I keep my contact info closely guarded. Why? Because it’s none of YOUR DAMN BUSINESS. In America now, you have to prove your innocence, not the accuser proving your guilt.
  
  Never wanted to get married, why buy the cow? Besides, many American women are merely physically mature, not emotionally or mentally. Why do you think mail order brides are so popular?
  
  Does this mean I’m a drug dealer or user, you assumptive jackass?
  
  You should follow what your moniker suggests because you certainly don’t exemplify rational thought.
  
  Report this comment
love the kids
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:26am
I’ll bet she has already checked on a life insurance policy. I hope she didn’t use facebook

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- naughtycal
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:30am
  So her son is missing for over a month and she hadn’t called the police before now? Sound truely concerned about her child…NOT
  
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love the kids
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:23am
The dumb a_ _ dosen’t even know that her own child had died 3 weeks ago, and it’s the police’s fault. I would be embarrased to even let someone know this happened to me. SHE DIDN”T EVEN KNOW HER OWN CHILD DIED FOR 3 WEEKS, if it wasn’t for the police attempts, she still wouldn’t know

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- Exiled
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 5:03pm
  He was 30. I’ve gone months without talking to my mother before. And I have no reason to believe that if I died today, that the police would be able to figure out who she was or how to contact her.
  
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Jenny Lind
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:12am
Man, I can’t get away from my kids-if someone doesn’t talk to me for a few hours, they’re all on the phone asking “where’s mom?” Sounds like the relationship wasn’t close-so her way of dealing with it will probably be sueing. Sad world.

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Eastinfection
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:09am
“it was from an unknown sender going by “Misty Hancock”…..”

WTF? Misty Hancock? … Really?

Was “Allota Fagina” taken already?
Does Lt. Chindler moonlight as a tranny-stripper thru the week?

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- 13th Imam
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:35am
  ***** Galore was already taken also
  
  Mary BE Ensane will be lookin fo cash
  
  Report this comment
huey6367
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:03am
They tried to reach you but couldn’t. The only way they had left was to use Facebook. Yet it is their fault because you don’t contact your son or have a method for people to contact. I think that makes you a POS. And the lawsuit begins. You know she will try suing.

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- huey6367
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:06am
  Yeah, they could have stopped by your house but you don’t stay in touch with family?
  
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Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:00am
But here is the question, how many likes did she get?

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- Eastinfection
  Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:21am
  The Clayton County Police regret to inform you that your son has “unfriended” you- Permanently.
  
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