A Missing Child - Spectrum Alert for 11-year-old Jaymee Irene Hall ended after she was found safe.
Hall was handled by the state's Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse.
The alert provided specific contact information for people with information.
Fort Lauderdale Police's Violent Crimes Division includes a dedicated Endangered Persons Unit and Special Victims Unit that oversee missing juvenile and high-risk missing person investigations, coordinating alongside homicide and human-trafficking cases, according to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
What Florida Law Requires When a Child Goes Missing
Florida law does not allow police departments to impose a waiting period before accepting a missing child report. Florida Statute 937.021 mandates immediate initiation of an investigation and entry into state and national crime databases, as reported by Uncovered. Agencies are required to accept reports in the jurisdiction where the person was last seen.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement operates the Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse, a 24-hour hotline at 1-888-356-4774 that provides analytical support for missing youth investigations statewide. Established in 1983 as the nation's first state-level clearinghouse of its kind, the clearinghouse, known as MEPIC, engages public alerts and state analytical databases for local departments handling juvenile searches.
The official alert for Hall was designated a Missing Child - Spectrum Alert.
How Florida Tracks Cases That Stay Open
Florida law requires law enforcement to transmit missing-person cases to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System within 90 days after receiving a missing-person report, according to the City of Orlando, creating a national searchable record for forensic investigators and the public.
Florida authorities completed Operation Statewide Shield, a five-day multi-agency child recovery initiative led by the state's law enforcement agency that located 163 missing children ranging from two months to 17 years old, as detailed by My Florida Legal. That operation coordinated state and local police with child-welfare services.
A Pattern of South Florida Searches
Hoodline previously covered a search near Fort Lauderdale for an 18-year-old autistic teen.
Anyone with information about Jaymee Irene Hall's whereabouts should use the specific contact information listed in the alert. Any active sighting or life-threatening emergency should go through 911.
