Local police-scanner watchdog dies
Robert Moose was a man in the know.
Whether that was following news from around the world, relaying information about severe weather or updating his thousands of Twitter followers to the latest crimes and oddities from police scanner traffic, Moose did his best to keep all informed and safe.
Planning a trip across the state last week with his mother, Patti HaggertyGalloway, Moose told her they should wait until a snow storm had passed through before leaving town.
“That was the last text I got from him ,” said Haggerty-Galloway, 67. “I think I knew when I saw he hadn't tweeted for a few days. That's when the nightmare started.”
Robert Patrick Moose, 42, died sometime over the weekend. His cause of death is unknown as his family waits for results back from the medical examiner's office. Services are pending.
Moose grew up in Oklahoma City and graduated from Putnam City North High in 1995.
It was around that same time he began chasing storms, at first for fun, before it quickly turned into an obsession, says Haggerty-Galloway.
“He was so excited and fascinated by storms ,” Haggerty-Galloway said. “It scared me to think of him out there in danger.
“But it was just his calling.”
A longtime ham radio operator, operating under the call sign N5QKI, Moose started to see how he could put two of his pass ions together and help out during severe weather.
He called Channel 4 and asked if they had anyone who operated a ham radio to report storm movements or damage.
They didn't. So Moose started showing up to the station as a volunteer.
“One day this guy just showed up,'” said KFOR managing edi t or Steve Johnson. “I thought it was just a one time-deal. But he would show up when we needed him.
“He didn't have to be called, he was always there.”
Mike Morgan, the lead meteorologist at Channel 4, said Moose was one of the hardest workers he had ever met.
“Behind the scenes, no one in world was more dedicated when severe weather threatened ,” Morgan tweeted .“Not hyperbole, No one. Way before Twitter, right back to May 3rd folks, and uncounted days till now. God rest his soul.”
While severe weather was one of his passions, Moose's mother said listening to police scanner traffic was his other.
Moose was a regular fixture in the Oklahoma City Twitter sphere, relaying breaking news, crime and general scanner talk, but doing so with his own style.
“Report of a man `trying to fight everybody' at a South OKC Buffalo Wild Wings,” Moose tweeted in October.
A month later he tweeted :“Someone was throwing cheese on unoccupied vehicles in a Bethany neighborhood.”
His last tweet came this past Friday:
“Someone executed a heist of two bottles of wine from a Mustang convenience store. For some reason, t hat ( Emmylou Harris) song comes to mind.”
Co-worker Chuck Mus grove said he was always amazed at Moose's dedication to his scanners. He was always going on about his latest scanner set up or what piece of new technology had just come out.
“I' d have to ask him, `what language are you speaking Moose ?'” Musgrove said. “I don't know when the guy ever slept. He was just always wanting to help people and deliver information.”
Moose's Twitter stats speak to his level of dedication. He had more than 4,500 followers on Twitter and averaged almost 13 tweets a day with his highest usage time happening between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., according to Twitter statistics.
“He had kind of a cultlike following,” Johnson said. “We've had so many replies and messages since his death from people asking `Where will I get my info from now?'
“All the people that just loved Bob. It was cool to see an outpouring like that.”
Haggerty-Galloway said her son talked about his friends online all the time and often shared some of his favorite interactions he had with people.
“He did not have a lot of friends growing up, but he found friends,” HaggertyGalloway said.
“Within the ham radio community and on Twitter, he had lots of friends.”
So after HaggertyGalloway found out her only child had died, she said she knew she needed to let his friends know.
She created a Twitter account and delivered the news in an all-caps tweet to tell people Moose had died and to get in touch with her if they wanted to talk.
The response she got back was overwhelming.
Haggerty-Galloway said hundreds of messages have poured in, including some from people she had no idea her son was connected to.
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt: “On behalf of the people of OKC, my deepest condolences. I never met your son in real life, but I & thousands of Twitter users in OKC enjoyed his work. I hope you get a chance to search his handle & see the outpouring of condolences. Our thoughts & prayers are w/ your family.”
The Oklahoma County sheriff' s office :“We always enjoyed our Twitter interactions with @RobertMoose as on occasion he'd tweet out our scanner shenanigans. Our condolences to his family, friends, and acquaintances.”
Funeral services are still being planned but Haggerty-Galloway said she will tweet out the details as soon as she can.
Already different meetups and fundraisers are being planned in Moose's honor.
“He had literally hundreds of people that loved him ,” HaggertyGalloway said .“He was very talented.
“All I can do is walk around and shake my head. This is surreal.”