Help find Penny Brown-Fiction!

Help Find Nine-Year old Penny Brown-Fiction!

Summary of eRumor:
An appeal from a mother to help locate her missing 9 year old daughter, Penny Brown.

The Truth:

This has been circulating long enough and without any evidence whatsoever that it is true that we are classifying it as fiction.

In a classic act of Internet integrity, someone has added that she is the subject of an "Amber Alert," a system of immediately notifying law enforcement and media of a missing child.
There is no amber alert, of course, because the story is not real.

Several things...

1. There is no evidence with any missing persons organization or law enforcement agency about a girl of this age and identity.

2. The email address given for response is no longer operating.

3. Some versions say they are from a woman from the University of Calgary, Monzine Jang. She is real but has nothing to do with the story and is getting weary of all the phone calls. She doesn't know how her name got involved. She has been concerned enough about it, however, that she's checked with missing persons organizations and law enforcement agencies in her area of Canada, but with no success at finding anything.

4. Other versions say the email is from Carol R. Carreón of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Texas at Austin. She says she regards the email as a hoax and that it was merely forwarded to the school.

5. Another version says she is the daughter of the manager of a Long's Drugstore in Southern California.

6. Still another version says she is the daughter of a store manager from Longs, South Carolina.

6. The appeal in this eRumor is similar wording to other missing child hoaxes.

7. If this person was really interested in getting help, she would give more information such as the location where the girl was last seen and any law enforcement agency that would want to receive any tips.

A real example of the story as it has been circulated:

Subject: MISSING CHILD PICTURE-ESKO

I am asking you all, begging you to please, forward this email onto anyone and everyone you know, PLEASE. My 9 year old girl, Penny Brown, is missing.

She has been missing for now two weeks.

It is still not too late.

Please help us.

If anyone anywhere knows anything, sees anything, please contact me at zicozicozico@hotmail.com I am including a picture of her.

All prayers are appreciated!! It only takes 2 seconds to forward this on, if it was your child, you would want all the help you could get.

Please. thank you for your kindness, hopefully you can help us.

Monzine Jang Office Administrator G208,
Health Sciences Centre Faculty of Medicine
University of Calgary
403- 220-2702
403- 210-8140 (fax)