Rapid response
Law enforcement ready in seconds to combat area child abduction cases
If a child is abducted in Southwest Arkansas, the response by law enforcement will be “all hands on deck” to alert the region’s eight counties within minutes and improve the chance of finding the child.
Arkansas State Police and the
FBI recently hosted a CART (Child Abduction Response Team) training session at the Troop G district headquarters in Hope, Ark.
“We want to put out the word, if you abduct or even attempt to abduct a child in our state, we’ve got experienced people who can respond almost immediately,” Troop G Capt. Brady Gore said.
The training session also included the FBI, U.S. Marshals, sheriff’s deputies, city police, school officials and probation and parole officers.
“If we ever have an actual abduction in the eight counties of Southwest Arkansas, the response will be immediately. Each team member has different job duties, and each member of the team knows what to do and implement it immediately,” Gore said.
An FBI study said in 76 percent of child abduction murders, the victim was killed within three hours of the reported abduction; in 89 percent of child abduction murders, the victim was killed within 24 hours. The statistics underscore the importance of executing the most effective recovery strategies immediately after a child goes missing, according to the study.
The introduction to the training documents distributed to participants was written by FBI Director James B. Comey.
“With any child abduction, time is not on our side,” Comey said. “As a parent, I can think of nothing more terrifying than a missing child. But for too many families, this terror is a reality.”
Comey wrote that reflecting on the pain families feel when a child is abducted is a guiding force for his agency.
“Saving lives, protecting the innocent, and hunting down the depraved
individuals who prey upon our nation’s children are at the heart of what the FBI does.”
The CART team will be prepared, Gore said.
“We want to be the best prepared as possible in case of a child abduction in Southwest Arkansas,” he said about the counties of Columbia, Hempstead, Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Nevada and Sevier.
“We will be all hands on deck and will use a sophisticated alert calling system,” Gore said.
“The CART team will be activated through the Troop G communication center at the Troop G headquarters in Hope. The communication system can send a phone text message and email within seconds to activate the CART team.”