Citizens, Deputies Join Forces to Recover Lost Child

By Wayne Ivey, Brevard County Sheriff // August 31, 2014

family thankful for safe return of child

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA — Sunday at approximately 1:05 a.m. members of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office West Precinct Echo Squad responded to a call in Cocoa in reference to a concerned citizen hearing a child crying.

When the citizen went outside they observed a four year old boy crying while standing next to the busy roadway.

When Deputies arrived on scene they immediately began attempting to identify the child’s family members and his address with virtually no information other than the small child’s name and age.

The child was wearing soiled clothes, had no shoes, and was very distraught. Based upon his condition Deputies believed that the child had somehow wandered away from his residence and began an extensive search to locate the child’s residence and family.

As Road Patrol Deputies worked to find the child’s home, Corrections Deputies at the Brevard County Jail worked to find clean clothing for the child, bring the child food, and bring one of our K-9 Bloodhounds to the scene to assist in the search and to aid in calming the child down.

In addition members of the Cocoa Police Department also worked to help resolve the situation by bringing the very upset child a number of stuffed animals they had in the Patrol Units for dealing with similar situations to calm a child.

After approximately 3 hours and an extensive search of the surrounding neighborhoods the child’s family was located. Further investigation revealed that the child had wandered from the home after everyone else at the residence had retired for the evening.

No charges are pending in the matter and the family is extremely thankful for the efforts of the citizen who first discovered the child and the various Law Enforcement Officers that work together to bring a great ending to a situation that could have ended badly for everyone.

This is another great example of what happens when our citizens and Law Enforcement Officers work together and also a great example of the amount of compassion our team members have for helping others in need.

Please join me in thanking the concerned citizens who made the initial call for assistance and the following members of our agency who worked together to make sure the young man made it home safely:

• Sergeant Jim Haman

• Cpl. Tom Case

• Deputy Josh Strait

• Deputy Matthew Preston

• Deputy Lauren Donaldson

• Agent Charlie LaRoche

• Corrections Lt. Kelly Haman

• Corrections K-9 Sgt. James Cochran

• Corrections Deputy Jessica Bradford

• K-9 Deputy Jim Ris

• K-9 Gordito

• Sergeant Dellatore with Cocoa Police Department

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.

Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft.

That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases. Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.

The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.

Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.

Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.