Missing N.J. teen Kara Alongi's tweet was hoax, police say

CLARK — The Clark teenager who tweeted Sunday night that someone was in her house and implored her followers to call 911 likely left her home voluntarily, township police said this morning.
Kara Alongi's disappearance is now being investigated as that of a runaway juvenile, Clark police chief Alan Scherb said
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Her parents returned home around 7:20 p.m. and called police, about an hour after the Arthur L. Johnson High School student tweeted, "There is somone in my hour ecall 911."
Family members were away at the time of the tweet, and returned home to find Alongi missing. They called police to report a burglary and a missing person, but when police arrived at the house they found no signs of forced entry or stolen property, Scherb said. A door was unlocked.
 Kara Alongi@KaraAlongi
There is somone in my hour e call 911
1 Oct 12
With the help of K-9 units, police tracked her scent from the back door of the house, through a neighbor's yard and around the corner back onto her block where the scent went cold, Scherb said.
Police then found that someone called a local taxi company asking for a car at Alongi's address around the same time as the tweet, and a cab driver confirmed that he dropped off a person matching the girl's description at the Rahway train station.
It is not clear whether she got on a train, police said. She left her cell phone at home.
This morning TV trucks and news media lined the street outside her Clark home, though most dispersed after police sent out a press release saying Alongi had run away voluntarily. Family members did not speak to the media, but one told a reporter the missing girl was "very nice."
Scherb said police have not determined whether Alongi will face any kind of penalty or punishment. Detectives are focused on locating her and bringing her home safely, he said.

Kara Alongi, the missing teen from Clark, seen in her Johnson High School yearbook photo.
"We don't know why she sent (the tweet) out," Scherb said. "Right now we are not looking at any charges."
Alongi's tweet went viral overnight, with thousands of messages about Alongi's reported disappearance and efforts like the hashtag #helpfindkara trending nationally on the site. As of 10:45 a.m. today, Alongi had more than 94,000 Twitter followers.
Clark police were flooded with an estimated 6,000 phone calls after Alongi's tweet spread across the internet.
"It sent more manpower (down) these wrong-way streets," Scherb said. "It hampers us because we have to follow up on bogus leads."
Scherb said the department even received calls from psychics offering their help in finding Alongi.
As to the influence social media had on the case, Scherb said, "I'm sure this will be a case study down the road."
Anyone with information about Alongi's whereabouts is asked to call Clark police or send an anonymous tip to Union County Crime Stoppers at 908-654-TIPS, www.uctip.org or text UCTIP plus a message to 274637.