Not necessarily, they could have just gone into some 'fight or flight' mode of 'freeze'. They could be at home, under the duvet, totally afraid to look at the phone or email. Every day could be the day it is faced up to but the duvet chosen instead. They could also have run off to stay with a friend not seen since a long time ago and able/willing to harbour them.
If they had clicked the wrong button in a moment of distraction then that might not be the end of the world, that could be fessed up to. However, what if they were pissed off with their micro-manager and thought that their 'accidental click' would result in the manager's scalp? A whole lot of things would then need to be looked into and it might not be a simple accident at all, but the visible result of a lot of festering office politics.
Operators should not be blamed for government-mandated, piss poor alert systems. The government is responsible for this fiasco, not the button pusher.
They have nothing to gain and a lot to lose by complying with an investigation.