Virgin Mobile customers aren't able to report emergencies via text in the area, so they should call in emergencies, she said.

After typing 911 as the recipient number while composing, someone texting 911 should first include in their message field where they are and what the emergency is, McGuire said.

Guidelines recommend these first texts be brief and use simple words, not abbreviations.

An automated acknowledgement will be sent once a text to 911 has been received, so if someone doesn't receive that confirmation reply they should call in their emergency.

"They cannot think they have reached our agency just because they have sent a text," McGuire said.

The person texting should be prepared to answer questions from the 911 center and should not turn their phone off until told that it is OK.

If a text is received and then communication from the person reporting the emergency stops, dispatchers will treat it like an abandoned 911 and send an officer to investigate, she said.

Several weeks ago during the soft launch of the technology, someone in hiding texted the 911 center in Nemaha County, Sheriff Brent Lottman said.