Council Commends Rescuers Of Missing Child

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Nearly two dozen people were given commendations at the July 13 Township Council meeting for their efforts in locating a missing child in May.

Most of those receiving the commendation are Franklin Township Police officers.

The child went missing in the Eagle’s Pass section of Franklin Park at about 3:35 p.m. on May 23.

The search involved First Responders and civilians, resulting in the child being found about 2 1/2 hours later.

The commendation recognized the major participants in groups.

Public Safety Director Quovella Spruill, FTPD Captains Sean Hebbon, Brian Regan and Phil Rizzo were recognized them as “respected leaders of the Franklin Township Police Department, who as a result have strengthened the bonds of trust and dependability between the department and the residents of Franklin Township.”

FTPD Lt. Lloyd Fredericks was recognized “for his leadership and timely deployment of members of the Franklin Township Police Department during the search and rescue …”

FTPD Sgts. Ken Daly, Brandon Domotor and Stacy Grant were recognized for “their professionalism and perseverance with the Franklin Township Police Department during the search and rescue response …”

FTPD Dets. Mark Keller and Rebecca Lea, and Officers Taylor Clanton, Andrew Crawford, David Dominguez, David Spakowski, Evan Sullivan, and Rosendo Vargas-Amador were recognized for “their outstanding service and commitment with the Franklin Township Police Department …”

Sohum Gupta, Krish Patel, and Justin Yannetta were recognized for “their courage and exemplary acts to assist in the township search and rescue and led … first responders to a successful resolution.”

Chantel and Stan Berteloot were recognized “for their sincere and selfless act reuniting a lost child with his family …”

Dispatchers Brittney McNamara and Julie Kozo were recognized for “their ability to coordinate, dispatch and provide timely deployment of members of the Franklin Township Police Department during the search and rescue …”

Spruill said the rescuers’ goal was to find the child before sundown.

“It was amazing how quickly it all came together,” she said. “It just shows that our training and experience in Franklin Township is among the best.”

Hebbon thanked all FTPD members who participated in the search.

“It was a great effort,” he said. “As someone who was out there, it’s a good feeling to see us all come together because these are the times that count.”

“It’s these things that show what our training’s all about, how we’re pushing forward with our mission and how everyone focuses and comes together as a team,” he said.

Daly thanked his squad, “especially the telecommunicators who were working that day.”

“t was a very stressful couple of hours to try and find this child,” he said. “I had all the confidence in the world, we have a great squad. We work great as a squad.”

Township Councilwoman Kimberly Francois said the Council was “so proud of you and we really appreciate everything you do to keep Franklin safe.”

“The anxiety that I felt was rewarded when he was found, and when I heard about the great effort not only from our police force, but the citizens of Franklin, it made me very, very proud,” Mayor Phil Kramer said.

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