WWYD: Missing Child, Cops Searching Neighborhood (1 Viewer)

[Murph]

Horrible story from my neighborhood yesterday, 3-year child has gone missing. Police don't suspect foul play, he's on the spectrum and they think he just wandered off. The search has been massive, hundreds of people We're right up against a state park/forest area too. Lots of woods and wetlands to search.

During the course of the search, the fire department knocked on every door in the neighboorhood and asked to search the house. I consented. I thought it was really smart to use the FD for this. I don't think I would have consented to a police search. 

What would you do?

 

[The General]

Kind of odd for them to need to look through the house but I’d be ok with it in this scenario. 

 

[Jobber]

For a missing kid, I’d allow it. That’s probably the only scenario though. 

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

Without hesitation. 

 

[mr. furley]

Kind of odd for them to need to look through the house but I’d be ok with it in this scenario. 

????

what if @Murph had kidnapped the kid and the police/FD didn't search his house? 

in this scenario the police aren't searching houses to issue tickets for a bong or a pile of coke.

 

[Murph]

I can understand those who would consent.

I don't understand anyone who would do so without hesitation. I approach all interactions with police with hesitation.

 

[Jobber]

????

what if @Murph had kidnapped the kid and the police/FD didn't search his house? 

in this scenario the police aren't searching houses to issue tickets for a bong or a pile of coke.

Maybe lawyerguys can chime in. My understanding  is if they did find a pile of coke on my coffee table, since they weren’t explicitly searching for drugs when you let them in, I think they couldn’t cite or arrest me.

 

[gianmarco]

It's an interesting question.  If I know the kid isn't in my house, then I'm not really helping anything by consenting.  I'm not keeping the kid from being found.  Any potential interaction could only have negative consequences for me.  Honestly not sure.  And I have nothing to hide.

And, of course, not consenting would raise a flag as well.

 

[The General]

????

what if @Murph had kidnapped the kid and the police/FD didn't search his house? 

in this scenario the police aren't searching houses to issue tickets for a bong or a pile of coke.

Is it standard for the police to search all houses when a child goes missing? I have never heard this or been in this situation I guess. 

 

[mr. furley]

I can understand those who would consent.

I don't understand anyone who would do so without hesitation. I approach all interactions with police with hesitation.

are you cosplaying as an arch-criminal?

you aren't doing anything illegal enough to worry.

 

[Murph]

you aren't doing anything illegal enough to worry.

Which is why they don't need to search my house. I can do a better job searching my property for the kid than the police can.

 

[FBG26]

Maybe lawyerguys can chime in. My understanding  is if they did find a pile of coke on my coffee table, since they weren’t explicitly searching for drugs when you let them in, I think they couldn’t cite or arrest me.

Doesn't matter what they are looking for. Once you let them in, they can tag you for anything illegal that they find. They might not do it right then and there, but they could definitely come back. 

My gut reaction was I no chance I let them in my house. Maybe I let the firemen in just because I'd perceive it less badly than I would police, but I still probably wouldn't. 

 

[mr. furley]

Is it standard for the police to search all houses when a child goes missing? I have never heard this or been in this situation I guess. 

two scenarios i can think of

1) Jacob Wetterling - police didn't search every home nearby, didn't question all the neighbors. turns out the most obvious suspect of all the neighbors is the one who did it and we had no idea for..... 30 years?

2) a girl in northern WI recently went missing on her walk to school. police didn't search all the local houses.. she turned up alive, having escaped a local home where the kidnapper was holding her as a sex slave.

i'm not a policeman but i would think searching as many houses in the area as possible is on their checklist & anyone who says "no" will be on their suspect list. if you haven't kidnapped a 3-year old and you say "no" to them searching your house at the very least they're going to look a little closer and your neighbors are going to think differently of you.

i would.

you aren't doing anything that the cops are worried about unless you have kidnapped that kid (or some other kid).

 

[mr. furley]

Which is why they don't need to search my house. I can do a better job searching my property for the kid than the police can.

i'm going to go ahead and say your unwillingness to let them search the house tells me you aren't going to do a "better" job than a team of officers and police dogs.

but, this is the internet so you're probably also an expert in many other topics which other experts in those fields can't possibly understand.

 

[Murph]

i'm going to go ahead and say your unwillingness to let them search the house tells me you aren't going to do a "better" job than a team of officers and police dogs.

but, this is the internet so you're probably also an expert in many other topics which other experts in those fields can't possibly understand.

They're not sweeping for DNA. They're looking for a toddler. And yes, I did do a better job looking under my deck than the cops I watched. Most of my neighbors were more thorough too. We're all looking for him.

 

[The General]

two scenarios i can think of

1) Jacob Wetterling - police didn't search every home nearby, didn't question all the neighbors. turns out the most obvious suspect of all the neighbors is the one who did it and we had no idea for..... 30 years?

2) a girl in northern WI recently went missing on her walk to school. police didn't search all the local houses.. she turned up alive, having escaped a local home where the kidnapper was holding her as a sex slave.

i'm not a policeman but i would think searching as many houses in the area as possible is on their checklist & anyone who says "no" will be on their suspect list. if you haven't kidnapped a 3-year old and you say "no" to them searching your house at the very least they're going to look a little closer and your neighbors are going to think differently of you.

i would.

you aren't doing anything that the cops are worried about unless you have kidnapped that kid (or some other kid).

Like I said have never heard of this being the procedure for looking for a missing kid or anyone missing with say cognitive issues. Asking everyone to help search I get. They aren’t better at looking through my house than I am  

I’d let them in but still find it a bit weird. 

 

[massraider]

The local police and firemen in my small hometown? 

No. 

 

[AAABatteries]

In this scenario and knowing I have nothing to hide I’m not worried about personal liberties at the moment.

However, one scenario that popped in to my head is, what if the kid was hiding at my place and I didn’t know?  Could I get arrested for abduction?  Think I would still let them.

 

[Murph]

However, one scenario that popped in to my head is, what if the kid was hiding at my place and I didn’t know?  Could I get arrested for abduction? 

That's an interesting question. In this particular case that would not be my concern. They seem to really, truly believe this is a lost child scenario. I don't think they would suspect the homeowner if he wound up unharmed in a basement or crawlspace. He's non-verbal and suspected to be hiding. 

 

[AAABatteries]

That's an interesting question. In this particular case that would not be my concern. They seem to really, truly believe this is a lost child scenario. I don't think they would suspect the homeowner if he wound up unharmed in a basement or crawlspace. He's non-verbal and suspected to be hiding. 

If I had no concerns about that then I see no reason to not let them search.  Hell, I'd let them view my Ring cameras too so they can see if the kid walked past my house or through my yard.

 

[Murph]

If I had no concerns about that then I see no reason to not let them search.  Hell, I'd let them view my Ring cameras too so they can see if the kid walked past my house or through my yard.

We don't have cameras but a lot of our neighbors do. Police have asked people to turn over footage. I'd have no problem doing that. Entering a home is different.

 

[AAABatteries]

We don't have cameras but a lot of our neighbors do. Police have asked people to turn over footage. I'd have no problem doing that. Entering a home is different.

If you are not worried about the kid being there and/or that you would be held culpable for that - what kind of things are you worried about with the authorities coming in to your house?  They make a mess?  They plant evidence?  They go through your wife's unmentionables?  I understand interactions with police can be tricky and there's lots of horror stories but I'm curious what specifically you would be worried about.

 

[Murph]

If you are not worried about the kid being there and/or that you would be held culpable for that - what kind of things are you worried about with the authorities coming in to your house?  They make a mess?  They plant evidence?  They go through your wife's unmentionables?  I understand interactions with police can be tricky and there's lots of horror stories but I'm curious what specifically you would be worried about.

I guess in general I prefer not to have any armed men in my house. 

Edit: that's kind of a flippant answer. But its really an inchoate feeling towards police. I don't believe ACAB, but enough of them are that I find the need to proceed with caution.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

We don't have cameras but a lot of our neighbors do. Police have asked people to turn over footage. I'd have no problem doing that. Entering a home is different.

Is the kid still missing?

 

[Murph]

Is the kid still missing?

Sadly yes. Its been over 24 hours now. Police still out searching.

 

[Hawks64]

????

what if @Murph had kidnapped the kid and the police/FD didn't search his house? 

in this scenario the police aren't searching houses to issue tickets for a bong or a pile of coke.

But they absolutely would do that if they find anything that falls outside the law.

No way I'm letting them into my house, and no way the kid would be in my house without me being aware because of my dogs.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

No way we are letting them do that.  And just how is this kid getting in our house anyway?  (I would have no problem with them checking the back yard.)

To sum up, not only no but hell no.

 

[The General]

i'm going to go ahead and say your unwillingness to let them search the house tells me you aren't going to do a "better" job than a team of officers and police dogs.

but, this is the internet so you're probably also an expert in many other topics which other experts in those fields can't possibly understand.

I mean anything is possible but in my place we have those cameras up that alert you when someone is at front door and backyard. My home doors are locked.

There’s almost zero chance they’d be in my house. Resources would be much better spent searching parks, backyards, outdoor spaces. 

 

[E Street Brat]

FD?  Maybe but I doubt it. 

Lakeland PD or Polk County sheriff? No way. 

 

[Zow]

two scenarios i can think of

1) Jacob Wetterling - police didn't search every home nearby, didn't question all the neighbors. turns out the most obvious suspect of all the neighbors is the one who did it and we had no idea for..... 30 years?

2) a girl in northern WI recently went missing on her walk to school. police didn't search all the local houses.. she turned up alive, having escaped a local home where the kidnapper was holding her as a sex slave.

i'm not a policeman but i would think searching as many houses in the area as possible is on their checklist & anyone who says "no" will be on their suspect list. if you haven't kidnapped a 3-year old and you say "no" to them searching your house at the very least they're going to look a little closer and your neighbors are going to think differently of you.

i would.

you aren't doing anything that the cops are worried about unless you have kidnapped that kid (or some other kid).

I recall the bold case. Crazy. Also, one of my college classmates (I didn't know him at all) went missing my sophomore year and it made national news. I was kind of surprised law enforcement didn't search our dorms. 

From a legal perspective, one almost certainly has the right to decline the request by law enforcement to search one's home. And, since that'd like be my advice, I don't blame anybody for doing it and nobody should rationally think less of somebody declining. Nonetheless, putting myself personally in that situation, I'd probably okay a minimal search (mainly for my own peace of mind as I have small children and wouldn't want a missing person to be hiding out) but I'd accompany the firefighters/law enforcement on their search and stop them if they tried to recklessly or unreasonably manually manipulate something of mine (e.g. start turn over beds, rummaging through closets, etc.). 

 

[Zow]

I mean anything is possible but in my place we have those cameras up that alert you when someone is at front door and backyard. My home doors are locked.

There’s almost zero chance they’d be in my house. Resources would be much better spent searching parks, backyards, outdoor spaces. 

Yeah, I have the same and my wife's phone alerts basically whenever any door in the house is opened. I stand by my post above but it'd be incredibly unlikely that somebody would be in my home without me knowing. 

 

[belljr]

Wow - I'm surprised by all the no answers........

I wouldn't think twice about it, whether it was police of fd

 

[Zow]

Doesn't matter what they are looking for. Once you let them in, they can tag you for anything illegal that they find. They might not do it right then and there, but they could definitely come back. 

My gut reaction was I no chance I let them in my house. Maybe I let the firemen in just because I'd perceive it less badly than I would police, but I still probably wouldn't. 

I second this analysis. Legally, anything unlawful or contraband found in your home pursuant to their search is almost certainly fair game for a criminal charge. You consented to let them in. 

I suppose it could become more nuanced of an issue if you let them in and, without permission, they started cracking open your safe or they searched in an area where it would be entirely unreasonable that a human would be hiding (i.e. they started opening your bedroom dresser drawers) but even then your best case scenario is that you're still charged and you pay somebody like me thousands to get you out of it. 

 

[Zow]

i'm going to go ahead and say your unwillingness to let them search the house tells me you aren't going to do a "better" job than a team of officers and police dogs.

but, this is the internet so you're probably also an expert in many other topics which other experts in those fields can't possibly understand.

I find the bold grossly irrational. 

 

[Zow]

Maybe lawyerguys can chime in. My understanding  is if they did find a pile of coke on my coffee table, since they weren’t explicitly searching for drugs when you let them in, I think they couldn’t cite or arrest me.

I'll be more blunt here: your understanding is entirely inaccurate under any state law I'm aware of. 

 

[GreenNGold]

They would absolutely be free to search my yard, I'd have a hard time consenting to a house search knowing the kid wasn't in my home.  I'd probably allow a supervised search like someone else suggested (where I walk through the home with a few of them to make sure they aren't getting too nosy). I doubt I'd let a large group in to randomly search my home unsupervised, even with nothing to hide.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Sadly yes. Its been over 24 hours now. Police still out searching.

That sucks. A 2 or 3 year old was found after being in the woods for like 3 days recently so hopefully the kid is ok.

Unfortunately my wife has a close friend where a very similar situation happened when their similarly aged kid got outside and wandered off and was found a few hours later drowned in like 18” of water. Certainly hoping that’s not the case here. What a nightmare.

 

[Murph]

That sucks. A 2 or 3 year old was found after being in the woods for like 3 days recently so hopefully the kid is ok.

This would be the best case scenario. The only news update I've seen is that two different scent dogs led police into the state forest. 

The magnitude of the search is hard to describe. I lived in Boston during the marathon lockdown but I've still never seen so many police in one place.

We're all just hoping for good news soon.

 

[Murph]

Sad update. The body has been found in the woods not far from where he was last seen.

 

[Sleestak]

If you are not worried about the kid being there and/or that you would be held culpable for that - what kind of things are you worried about with the authorities coming in to your house?  They make a mess?  They plant evidence?  They go through your wife's unmentionables?  I understand interactions with police can be tricky and there's lots of horror stories but I'm curious what specifically you would be worried about.

I'd be worried they'd shoot my dog.  I'm quite serious.  My dogs are my kids, so losing one because it barked at a cop would be devastating to me.  One of my dogs is definitely stupid enough to bark/growl at a big loud blue stranger coming into my house.

 

[Dickies]

No way am I voluntarily letting the police into my home.  I would gladly provide them with my security camera footage though.

 

[The General]

Sad update. The body has been found in the woods not far from where he was last seen.

damn

 

[Murph]

I'd be worried they'd shoot my dog.  I'm quite serious.  My dogs are my kids, so losing one because it barked at a cop would be devastating to me.  One of my dogs is definitely stupid enough to bark/growl at a big loud blue stranger coming into my house.

This is a concern for me as well. The DOJ estimates cops kill 25 dogs per day. Independent researchers think the number is even higher.

 

[AAABatteries]

Sad update. The body has been found in the woods not far from where he was last seen.

Damn - that’s horrible.  Considering he wasn’t missing that long are they suspecting foul play.  God, I can’t imagine.

 

[AAABatteries]

I'd be worried they'd shoot my dog.  I'm quite serious.  My dogs are my kids, so losing one because it barked at a cop would be devastating to me.  One of my dogs is definitely stupid enough to bark/growl at a big loud blue stranger coming into my house.

Totally understand your point but couldn’t you either crate them, put them in the backyard or have someone take them on a walk?  

 

[Murph]

Damn - that’s horrible.  Considering he wasn’t missing that long are they suspecting foul play.  God, I can’t imagine.

I saw that a police briefing was scheduled for an hour from now. I will keep updating this thread if there's any new news.

 

[Gally]

It's an interesting question.  If I know the kid isn't in my house, then I'm not really helping anything by consenting.  I'm not keeping the kid from being found.  Any potential interaction could only have negative consequences for me.  Honestly not sure.  And I have nothing to hide.

And, of course, not consenting would raise a flag as well.

You are though because if you don't consent then you are immediately on top of the list of suspects and they will waste time pestering you because they think you have something to hide.  That is taking away time and resources they should be using to really find what happened to the kid.  So you would actually hurting the search by not consenting.  

 

[Sleestak]

Totally understand your point but couldn’t you either crate them, put them in the backyard or have someone take them on a walk?  

I suppose.  However, I simply am not ready on a moment's notice to do that.  They'd have to give me a minute or two.  For instance, our crates aren't set up since someone is always home with them or we aren't away from home long enough to need to use them.  So I would be acting rattled, making armed and amped up cops wait on my doorstep while I farted around trying to clear the dogs from the scene.  Those guys want to get in and do whatever they think their job is - I'd be acutely aware of that.

Throwing the dogs in the back yard would be my fastest, go-to solution.  That is a routine action.  All I'd have to do in that case is monitor the gates so the dogs don't get out in all the excitement.

I'd feel much better with unarmed folks (the FD) in my house.  My trust in the police has eroded considerably over the years.  Most are fine and many are great, but... you know.  We are totally law-abiding, older, and have nothing to hide, but I am just extremely uncomfortable with them in my house, and I worry that I'd be putting my pets at risk letting them in.  Once you let them in, I'm guessing that they think they own the scene and I'd have a hard time controlling their actions.

 

[Gally]

I would have no problem letting them in to look around.  I have nothing to worry about by having a cop in my house.  The concern would be the kid and I wouldn't have an issue.  

 

[Murph]

I have nothing to worry about by having a cop in my house.  

I'm honestly envious that your life experiences have led you to this conclusion.