Racine County woman details frightening moments following false missile alert in Hawaii

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- A Sturtevant woman who is in Hawaii to help take care of her new grandson, says she thought they were going to die. This, after an emergency alert notification was sent out on Saturday, January 13th, claiming a “ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii."

Thankfully, the threat was a false alarm caused by an employee pressing the "wrong button" during a shift change, Hawaii officials say. However, it was still very frightening for those who weren't sure what was going on.

Joyce Andersen

"My daughter just yelled, 'Get dressed! Get dressed! Grab the baby then get dressed,'" said Joyce Andersen, who is from Sturtevant, Wisconsin. "They have a one-bedroom apartment so I put my air mattress...against the glass windows. I was sitting in the galley kitchen, between two cabinets, my daughter was filling glasses full of water. Told my son-in-law to fill up the bathtub and sink with waterbecause if the water goes out you need clean drinking water."

Joyce Andersen says she called family members to tell them she loved them. She didn't find out it was a false alarm for close to 40 minutes.

"We were scared. We were pretty scared," Andersen said. "We were filling up water and praying and hoping that it was not going to happen."

The whole ordeal is giving her daughter second thoughts about living in Hawaii.

Andersen says the islands are still on edge following the incident.