Google launches Person Finder in response to Boston Marathon blasts

Google Person Finder
A tool to locate friends and family in Boston

Two explosions rocked the area near the finish line of the Boston Marathon today, leaving dozens injured and at least three dead.

Social media is aflutter with up-to-the-minute reports of the incident, and those trying to track their loved ones now have several resources in place.

Among those is Google, which quickly set up a Boston Marathon Explosions Person Finder, something it's done during past crisis situations such as the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

The service is currently tracking 3,600 records, and while it can't verify the authenticity of the reports, it serves as one tool people can use to find one another. Visitors can input the name in whole or in part of someone they are trying to locate, or post information about someone else.

In the past, Google has worked with other sites to get feeds into the Finder, but so far it's alone in populating information about Boston. It will stay up, we were told by Google, for as long as people are looking for their loved ones.

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Michelle Fitzsimmons

Michelle was previously a news editor at TechRadar, leading consumer tech news and reviews. Michelle is now a Content Strategist at Facebook.  A versatile, highly effective content writer and skilled editor with a keen eye for detail, Michelle is a collaborative problem solver and covered everything from smartwatches and microprocessors to VR and self-driving cars.

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