TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Local volunteers are raising funds for a vital command unit to better serve families and law enforcement in missing persons cases.
- North Florida Search Team answers the call when law enforcement requests help to find missing loved ones.
- Recent surge in search missions highlights an urgent need for better equipment and technology.
- Watch the video to find out how a new piece of equipment could change the way the nonprofit conducts searches.
Community rallies behind North Florida Search Team’s mission to bring loved ones home
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
For many families waiting on answers about their missing person, hope often comes from volunteers willing to help during the searches.
The North Florida search team has helped law enforcement with missing cases in our region, but the nonprofit organization says lack of equipment could slow down future searches.
I'm Lyric Sloan in Southwest Tallahassee, showing you how a new piece of equipment could help change the way the nonprofit organization saves lives.
"People coming together as a community, brought our daughter home," Terri Gwaltney, missing person advocate, said.
Bringing families back together.
That's the mission for the local nonprofit the North Florida Search Team.
These volunteers work side by side with law enforcement to find missing people, but only when law enforcement contacts them directly for help.
"The more that we're going out, we're noticing that we the things that we need more as we go out to help," Michelle Mclaughlin, North Florida Search Team Chief Operations Officer, said.
The demand for their services is growing.
Just last year, the team responded to five calls.
This year, the team says the number has already jumped to 17, and with each mission, the need for reliable equipment becomes more urgent.
"We need the internet. We need to have the computers. We need to be able to go out there," Mclaughlin said.
People like Terri Gwaltney know firsthand the impact these teams have.
Her daughter went missing in March, and thanks to efforts similar to the North Florida Search Team, she came home safely.
"It is really important to come together as a community to give. I know that people are so quick to want to donate clothes or items from their home, but people are also willing to tithe to their church. But there's these families that are being affected every single day because someone they love is missing and they can't go to sleep that night wondering where their family member is," Gwaltney said.
The search team is raising money for a new command unit, a specialized trailer that would serve as their headquarters in the field, letting them do logistics, planning, team meetings and mapping all on site.
"It's a it's a trailer. You walk in, it's going to have TV or it has TVs. It has a desk. We can do our team meetings. We can, you know, be able to help, you know, make our maps we use the CalTopo mapping system and just be able to make the maps that we need," Mclaughlin said.
The team says this unit would improve coordination, safety and communication, making every search big or small more effective.
The North Florida Search Team says their mission is simple, to help bring answers to families when they need it the most.
As they continue to raise funds for critical equipment, they say community support will help them continue to aid law enforcement.
In Southwest Tallahassee, Lyric Sloan, ABC 27.
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