Alert system mistake warns Missouri residents Joker is on the loose

Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The Missouri State Highway Patrol is reassuring the public that Batman villain Joker is not on the loose after a staff member sent an emergency alert mobile devices.

Missouri residents received alerts from the highway patrol Tuesday warning citizens of "Gotham City" to be on the lookout for a purple and green 1978 Dodge 3700 GT with license plate number "UKIDME" -- a description that matches the vehicle used by Jack Nicholson as the Joker in the 1989 film Batman.

The law enforcement agency explained in a Twitter post that the clown prince of crime is not on the loose in Missouri, which does not have a place called "Gotham City."

"This was meant to be a test message, THERE WAS NO ALERT," the highway patrol tweeted. The agency said the message was meant to be "a routine test of Missouri's Blue Alert system."

"The Patrol regularly tests the Blue Alert system to ensure it works properly when needed. During the test, an option was incorrectly selected, allowing the message to be disseminated to the public," the agency said in a statement.