NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & SportsMissing Child Prank Upsets Family

Missing Child Prank Upsets Family

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - What was once thought to be a case of a missing child turned out to be a prank.

About two weeks ago, an e-mail surfaced asking readers for help finding a missing 4-year-old boy. It turned out a friend sent the e-mail, and the boy was never missing.

The e-mail featured a Christmas picture of a family, and the supposed missing child, Sharon Kimble's grandnephew Jeremiah.

"I was hysterical," Kimble said, but "the child is safe and healthy and happy."

As days passed, the e-mail meant as a joke gained momentum across the country.

"Oh my goodness. And just the click of that Internet sends things to millions of people," she said. "You just don't know the extent."

People from across the country called the supposed phone numbers of family members listed in the e-mail.

"None of them are good numbers," Kimble said. "Everything on that is fraudulent."

Kimble said her family had also been flooded with phone calls from acquaintances who were shocked to learn the e-mail was a bad practical joke.

"This is not the type of prank that you would play on a family because it just didn't hit my family, it hit all extended parts of it," she said.

So anyone who gets the e-mail, there's no need to call or pass it on. Jeremiah is just fine and so is his family.

"It feels good to know that the community, the world, they actually do care," she said.

Mentioned earlier, five phone numbers were listed in the e-mail. The numbers belong to individuals or organizations not connected to Kimble's family. The real owners of the phone numbers have received hundreds of calls. Two of the numbers were recently disconnected.

One of the listed numbers actually belongs to the Davidson County Sheriff's Office.

The e-mail also makes reference to Victory Church where Jeremiah's mother worships. Church officials said the person who pulled the prank wrote an apology.

Even though the family was upset by this prank, they decided not to release the name of the friend who sent the e-mail. They also decided against taking any legal action.