Missing Port St. John teen found safe: Brevard sheriff

Lina Portman1 week ago

0 3 minutes read

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey says a missing Port St. John girl has been found safe in West Florida.

A 13-year-old girl whose disappearance Monday during a visit to Port St. John sparked a search by neighbors and calls for help from family members has been found safe by sheriff's officers of Brevard County in Pasco County, the sheriff reported.

The girl, who was last seen by family members in the driveway of her grandfather's house around 3 p.m. Monday, apparently escaped with the help of a 17-year-old year-old who helped the teenager leave Brevard County, Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a statement. statement issued after 1 a.m. Tuesday.

The teen was found more than nine hours after family members called police to report the girl missing, then took to Facebook to ask residents and neighbors to help them search while s 'questioning the lack of public alerts.

No Amber Alert was issued or social media posts from the Sheriff's Office communicating the situation to the public, including many residents who drove to the wooded area near Golfview Avenue where the teenager was last seen. For hours, residents prayed on Facebook, offering advice and also raising questions about the lack of communication. Ivey said there was a reason for the office's silence.

“My friends, this case was never considered a kidnapping as it was recognized by our team very early in the investigation as a runaway scenario!!,” Ivey wrote. “As such, we have worked accordingly, which is exactly why we have never issued an 'Amber Alert' or 'Missing Child Alert!!' It is also important to understand that in these In this case, we do not openly say that we are actively working on the case and what steps we are taking, because the fugitive and anyone who helps him, in this case a 17 year old, will go underground and do this It's much more difficult to locate them!!

Ivey chastised those who criticize the lack of online communication.

“While a select few took to social media, inciting fear in the community for their own personal agenda, our agents and staff did exactly what they do in every case…” Ivey wrote in the statement. He praised his officers and reiterated that there were indications the teen had fled the home.

“They remained focused on using their investigative skills and all of their other tools, including technology, to follow the evidence and quickly locate the child!!,” he said.

Ivey said investigators interviewed the teen's parents and sought access to the girl's Snapchat account. Officers also spoke to the father who indicated that he and the mother found what Ivey described as a “duffle bag” filled with extra clothing and other items, suggesting the girl may have -be intending to escape. It was not immediately clear how the girl was taken to Pasco, located near the state's west coast.

Before the teen was found, Andrea Dria, who identified the girl as her niece, said, “People are calling to come help with the search,” after posting an appeal asking residents and neighbors to rummage. The teenager lived in Melbourne but was in Port St. John to celebrate a birthday with family, her father said.

Both Dria and the teen's father spoke to FLORIDA TODAY about their efforts to find her.

Criticism over the initial lack of communication in the case followed others, including the death of a man on the beach and the death of a child at Indialantic.

In his statement, Ivey thanked residents – including some who searched the heavily wooded area after sunset Monday and others who used 4x4s to drive through the area – for their help in finding the child. . “However, in this particular case, the frenzy created on social media by only a select few was unnecessary and unjustified!! In fact, one of the main people involved in the social media outbursts claimed to be a parent of the child and to have literally no relation to the child and had never even met the child's parents. 'child !!

Ivey did not identify the person. He also expressed thanks to the Pasco County Sheriff for that agency's unspecified assistance. It is unclear if any arrests have been made in this case or if an investigation is continuing.

“Thankfully, in this case, it was an isolated domestic incident that our team was able to put an end to by finding the child and returning her safely to her parents,” Ivey said.

JD Gallop is a criminal justice and breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or [email protected]. Or X, formerly known as Twitter: @JDGallop.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey says a missing Port St. John girl has been found safe in West Florida.

Lina Portman

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