SOMERSET, MASS. (WHDH) - Authorities are warning parents of a troubling new online trend known as the “48-Hour Challenge,” during which teens pretend to go missing.
In a statement issued Thursday, Somerset Police Chief and SEMLEC Search and Rescue Control Chief George M. McNeil and the members of the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council warned parents of the “48-Hour Challenge” and asked them to talk to their children about the risks and consequences of taking part.
Teens participating in the challenge fake their own disappearance for a number of hours and are awarded “points” for getting mentioned on social media, officials say.
“Missing children and teens and the effort that goes into trying to locate a person that has been reported missing is a very serious situation,” McNeil said. “A trend like this could be cause for SEMLEC Search and Rescue to be mobilized to a community and spend hours looking for a person that his not actually missing or in danger.”
Police say there have not yet been any incidents of this trend in southeastern Massachusetts.
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