EMERGENCY PHONE NOTIFICATION LOCATES MISSING JUVENILE

On June 23, 2010 at approximately 5:30 PM the Darke County Sheriff’s Office received a report from 8732 Miller-Brumbaugh Road that a 14 year old male had been missing since 2 PM today and could not be located. This location is in rural southeast Darke County in Monroe Township. Darke County Sheriff’s Deputies and Detectives were dispatched to the scene to investigate. It was determined that the 14 year old juvenile had been disciplined by his parents prior to leaving their rural property. The family attempted to locate the juvenile on their own accord but was unable to do so. The juvenile was not known to run away previously. The parents became concerned after the time elapsed and they failed to locate him. Due to special circumstances with the child and environmental concerns such as waterways nearby a comprehensive search of the area was launched. Pitsburg Fire Department along with numerous surrounding mutual aid fire companies responded and assisted in the search of the juvenile.

At 7:00 PM the Darke County Sheriff’s Office activated the Emergency Notification System. This system utilizes mass telephone notification of a specified area. The notification in this case was a three mile radius from where the juvenile was last seen and also included the Village of Pitsburg. A description of the missing child was broadcast through this system. At 7:18 PM the Darke Sheriff’s Office received calls from two residents on Meadow Lane near Pitsburg reporting the location of the child. Both callers had received the notification and observed the child in a cornfield. One of the residents stayed with the juvenile until deputies arrived a short time later. The juvenile was reunited with his family by 7:48 PM. This is a positive example of what an Emergency Notification System can do to assist in public safety.