You may remember the case involving a 2-year-old boy that was abducted from a Giles County church last May.
Thankfully, he was found safe. But that was largely in part to the FBI’s ‘CARD’ teams.
‘CARD’ stands for ‘Child Abduction Rapid Development.’
The teams work to find abduction victims as quickly as possible and apprehend the ones responsible for taking them.
We spoke with the FBI Tuesday about the crucial work they do here, especially when minutes matter.
They partner with local law enforcement to provide training beforehand, as well as providing additional resources and personnel during a missing child investigation.
In the case last year, local law enforcement had just gone through ‘CARD’ training a few months prior to his abduction.
“The local law enforcement agencies that responded knew the appropriate way to respond. They got us involved right away, and that gave Noah the best chance of being brought home, which he was the next day,” Special Agent Michael French said. “In less than 24 hours, we were able to resolve that case working together.”
There are often misconceptions when it comes to missing children, including having to contact authorities within 24 hours.
The FBI wants parents to know that this is not the case at all. Parents should notify police right away, as the first few hours are critical to finding the child.