BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — The Hernando County Sheriff's Office is taking notes from the search that led to the rescue of a 2-year-old boy found nearly 24 hours after he wandered away from home last week.
About 500 volunteers were out looking for Joshua "JJ" Rowland when one volunteer, Roy Link, found the boy in a field not far from his home. Now, Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis says they are considering bringing in a fleet of volunteers for future similar situations.
After every critical incident the sheriff's office investigates, Nienhuis said they look at what could have been done differently. The search for JJ was a little different based on how far he was able to travel from his house.
"And that is one thing we're looking at is to try to pre-vet and pre-train some of those individuals that can come in and, if nothing else, help us manage the 500 people that are going to show up," Nienhuis said.
The sheriff's office doesn't have many extra deputies or people "sitting on the bench," as Nienhuis describes it. They cover a population of roughly 200,000 people and are a relatively smaller sheriff's office compared to others around the state.
While having extra hands on deck – especially 500 volunteers – sounds helpful, Nienhuis said they still have to facilitate that and certainly don't want anyone getting hurt during the search. He also worries about people who could be part of the search parties who have ulterior motives.
Parents can also help prevent another situation like this from happening, Nienhuis explained. He listed examples of GPS trackers to keep up with children prone to wandering, setting up barriers between your child and attractive nuisances like pools, woods, an old car, and stressed parents getting proper rest to be awake and alert when needed.
In the future, the Hernando County sheriff said he's working with the county commission to help arrange efficient search methods.