A low-power mobile telephony alert system and an alert device. The alert device has a communication interface configured to establish a low-power communication link with a mobile device for transmitting status data to the mobile device, and a telephony-enabled communication linked with the mobile device for initiating telephony from the mobile device while in locked mode. The alert device can initiate a status check request to third party contact devices before escalating to connect to the mobile device from locked mode to initiate telephony to an emergency service. The alert device is compact and can be incorporated into an article of jewelry or a wearable loop member.