Blackhawk helicopters, meteors, Chinese satellites… what the heck was going on Saturday night? Depending on who you ask around Winfield and Cowley County, you’re bound to get a different answer.
Hackles were raised that evening when a Ring Neighbors app message indicated a military helicopter had crashed in the area of Country Club Road in Winfield. That was not the case.
Nonetheless some believed they had gotten an alert from Ring about the incident. Also, not the case.
“There was no actual alert from Ring,” a company spokesperson said Monday in response to inquiries from Cowley Post.
Instead, area residents were seeing posts to the Ring Neighbors app. The company provided an email that explained how that app works.
“Ring’s Neighbors app is a hyperlocal app that empowers residents and community organizations to share helpful information and resources. Posts on the platform must follow our community guidelines, which are available here, and we moderate posts according to these guidelines.”
The company itself has no employee or employees who monitor or otherwise issue alerts on area-specific incidents, like crashes. Nor does it have any way to verify the validity of any of those types of reports on the Neighbors app.
Area emergency dispatchers were briefly inundated with calls about the report that apparently originated from the Ring Neighbors app. That post seems to have since been removed from the platform. Continue story below ad.
The Ring app issue doesn’t explain various pops, bangs and other loud noises heard throughout the area Saturday night. Some also claimed to have seen flashes of light.
Various internet-based reports have speculated that meteors or disintegrating satellites or Chinese satellites passing overhead, were to blame. So far, we’ve seen no confirmation of such reports.
