Glitch sends erroneous notifications of felons' release

PORTLAND, Ore. – Subscribers of an Oregon prison notification service may have received an incorrect alert Friday that a convicted murderer who was supposed to be locked up for life was released.

"Instantly horrified," said Brea Day, who received word that her cousin's killer was released. "It's very upsetting."

Just after 5:30 p.m. Friday, KGW received the following notification from Oregon VINE Service:

"This e-mail is to inform you that WARD WEAVER has been released from custody as of 3/20/2015. If you have any concerns about your immediate safety, contact your local law enforcement agency, or if you have an emergency, call 911."

According to Betty Bernt with the Department of Corrections, Weaver, one of the most infamous killers in Oregon, was never released from prison. He remains locked up at the Snake River Correctional Institution in Eastern Oregon. The notifications are a glitch.

Bernt said work was recently done on the VINE system by contractors, and they are trying to find what caused the glitch.

In the meantime, people have been receiving notifications from VINE that convicted felons have walked free.

"We thought it was real," said Day. "I wanted it to be a mistake."

This is especially concerning for victims and their families who have signed up for VINE, which stands for Victim Information Notification Everyday.

A man called KGW Friday evening, concerned after being notified that his mother's killer had been released from prison.

According to Bernt, hundreds, maybe thousands of people in Oregon and out of state could have received the alerts. The Department of Corrections has been fielding phone calls from subscribers worried that the offenders are free.

Anyone who received an alert will also receive a reverse notification once the system is fixed. To find out whether an offender has been released, use the Find Offender tool on the DOC website. Bernt said that is always correct.

This article was originally posted at KGW.