SPARTA TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Sussex County) — A missing juvenile was found safe Wednesday evening following an extensive multi-agency search that spanned several Sussex County communities, police said.
According to the Sparta Township Police Department, officers responded at approximately 5:21 p.m. July 8 after receiving a report that a juvenile had left home earlier in the day and failed to return.
Officers immediately began searching parks, beaches, walking paths and other locations the juvenile was known to frequent. Detectives and supervisors also pursued investigative leads while surrounding law enforcement agencies were notified after police determined the juvenile may have traveled outside Sparta Township.
Police issued a regional “be on the lookout” alert and entered the juvenile into the National Crime Information Center database as a missing person. Investigators also reviewed surveillance footage, interviewed witnesses and coordinated with neighboring police departments.
Authorities said information shared during the investigation led officers from the Andover Township Police Department to recognize the juvenile from an earlier sighting, helping narrow the search area.
As the search shifted to Andover Township, the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office joined the investigation, the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office deployed a K-9 team and the Newton Police Department responded with its drone unit.
Police said Newton Police Detective Erik Soroka used a drone equipped with thermal imaging to search nearby wooded areas and located the juvenile along a tree line.
The juvenile was found unharmed, evaluated by emergency medical personnel as a precaution and reunited with family members.
The Sparta Township Police Department thanked the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, Andover Township Police Department, Newton Police Department, Detective Erik Soroka, the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, the New Jersey State Police, Atlantic Health System EMS, Lakeland Bus Lines and the many dispatchers, patrol officers, detectives and supervisors who assisted in the search.
Police said the incident demonstrates the importance of rapid communication and cooperation among law enforcement agencies during missing person investigations.
The department also reminded the public that there is no waiting period to report a missing child and urged anyone who believes a child is missing or in danger to contact their local police department immediately.
