April 7, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

        A lost child crisis had a happy ending Friday afternoon when Key West Police officers found the boy heading to a local toy store.

        The department, in conjunction with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, had been on a high-alert search for the missing boy for over two hours before he was found, issuing an Amber Alert statewide and deploying officers, detectives and the Mounted Patrol locally to search for the child.

        “From the time we were first called to when we had all our resources engaged and had the Amber Alert issued was less than 30 minutes,” said Criminal Investigations Unit Sergeant J.R. Torres. “That’s an extremely fast response. And a fast response is crucial in a missing child case.”

        Officer Melissa Hadas was flagged down by two women in the 1400 block of White Street Friday around 4 p.m. In broken English, one woman told Ofc. Hadas that about half an hour earlier, she was leaving her apartment at 1001 Truman Avenue with her 8-year-old son when she realized she had left her purse behind. She told the boy to wait on the stairs while she ran back to grab her purse. When she came back down the stairs, the boy was gone.

        Ofc. Hadas immediately issued a Be on the Lookout notice to all on-duty officers, and called in detectives. The Mounted Patrol Unit was also deployed. Children naturally come up to meet the horse, so they are a good resource to use in missing children search cases.

        As officers combed the city’s parks, playgrounds, beaches and toy stores, a picture of the missing boy was obtained and distributed. Officers also conducted a door-to-door search of the boy’s neighborhood, to no avail.

        At 6:15 p.m., Officer Brian Leahy was driving in New Town when he saw the boy come around the corner at Sears. He was allegedly on his way to a Searstown toy store to get a PSP (PlayStation Portable).       

        “I’m extremely impressed with how our department handled this case,” said Patrol Operations Bureau Captain Scott Smith. “Our officers and detectives responded quickly and precisely, doing everything they are trained to do in cases like this.”

Christie Phillips
Public Information Officer
Key West Police Department
305.809.1058
305.797.0417
cphillip@keywestcity.com