NEW YORK — By Amanda Hugginkiss, AI Bee Reel Staff

February 9, 2026

OAK BROOK, Illinois — Local father Tom Henderson accidentally turned his quiet cul-de-sac into a war zone this morning. After his phone buzzed with a notification caused by a squirrel moving a dry leaf, Henderson panic-tapped the new “Search Party” button. Immediately, fifty neighbors in full tactical gear burst out of their bushes simultaneously to secure the perimeter against the rodent threat.

“We built Search Party to foster connection through total surveillance,” said Ring VP of Escalation Marcus Thorne. Ring’s new feature allows users to broadcast missing person alerts to neighbors, though privacy advocates worry it creates a localized surveillance state. “If you aren’t ready to mobilize a militia for a lost cat, do you even care about safety?”

“The system is working perfectly,” explained Director of Neighborhood Watch Brenda Sticks. “It eliminates the delay of actually checking out the window.” Sticks noted that while the squirrel escaped, the mobilized dads successfully detained three mailmen and a confused Uber Eats driver for questioning regarding the leaf movement.

At press time, Henderson tried to cancel the alert but hit “Escalate” instead, resulting in a drone strike on his own porch.

Inspired by the real story: Ring launched a ‘Search Party’ feature that lets users ask neighbors for camera footage, raising major privacy concerns. Read the full story.