Google Person Finder Locates Missing at Boston Marathon Explosion

Zoe Fox2013-04-15 21:36:08 UTC

Google Person Finder, a tool the company built following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, has been activated for use following the deadly Boston Marathon explosions Monday afternoon.

Shortly after launching, the Person Finder homepage says it's tracking about 800 records.

As the tool is being populated, you can either search for someone or share information about someone's whereabouts. The tool includes a disclaimer stating that Google doesn't review or verify any information, and all submitted details are public to all users.

If you can't find the information you're looking for from Google Person Finder, the Boston Athletic Association shares marathon runners' recent times and locations. The Red Cross has a similar feature to Google's Person Finder called Safe and Well, which is currently being used to share whereabouts as well.

Google Person Finder is a project of Google Crisis Response, part of the tech giant's non-profit arm, Google.org.

For Marathoners stranded in Boston due to flight cancellations or other complications, Boston.com has set up a Google Doc where people can express need or offer their homes to guests.

According to a 4:06 p.m. ET tweet from the Boston Police Department, two deaths are reported and 23 people are injured, though some news organizations are reporting higher numbers.

Image via Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images

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