An Open Letter to Carroll County Maryland Sheriff’s
Department:
I was watching my friend in Florida go through one of the
scariest moments as a mom. Her daughter ran away and the local sheriff’s
department was offering very little encouragement. I couldn’t believe that this
missing child didn’t seem to matter. The family would call and leave messages
and who knew how long it would be before they would get back to them. Then once
they did, there was nothing that left them feeling like their daughter’s life mattered.
They simply took the stance that it’s not illegal to runaway. There was a lot
more to worry about since her daughter put an open request on SnapChat to come
pick her up at 11PM.
After seeing the phone records from her last night at home they
realized she may be trying to get up to Carroll County. The next morning, I
went on line and pulled up your website. Under your contact section, I saw a
list of all the department heads including the Sheriff himself with direct
e-mails for each person. This may not be surprising to some people, but our
local Sheriff’s office list one phone number and one e-mail. EVERYTHING goes
through these two options. I debated for a second on who to send the e-mail to.
I decided to send it directly to Sheriff
Jim DeWees.
Thinking it would turn out the way the Florida efforts did,
I didn’t expect much, especially being I’m not even the parent, I’m just a
concerned friend of the family. Within thirty minutes of the e-mail, Cpl.
Jeremy Holland contacted me. When my phone rang, I started tearing up the
second he said who he was. For the first time I felt like the right people were
in my friend’s corner. After our conversation he contacted both my friend and
her husband. He stayed in contact with the family all day until they tracked
her down. She was safe. A giant exhale came across all of us.
As if all your department’s help wasn’t enough, I get a call
from Cpl. Holland letting me know they got her, just in case I didn’t know yet.
I of course then have to write back the Sheriff and he responds back right
away. He knew from the e-mail that we were desperate for help in finding her.
He also had wonderful things to say about his team. I am in awe!
With all the negativity in the world, I knew it was
important to share our experience with world. Your team gave us hope when we
were under so much stress that exhaling seemed impossible. You are true heroes.
The heart and compassion of Sheriff DeWees and Cpl. Holland came through each
communication with the family and I. During a very dark time, you gave us hope.
Carroll County is so lucky to have you on their side.
Thank you for being the people that you are and showing us
that there still is so much heart out there serving us. I feel like a better
person just for getting to work with you in the slightest way. I wish you and
your whole department many blessing and I hope that other Sheriff’s offices
around the country see what it means to extend a hand, whether required or not,
to help lift people up around them.
A Better Me
Rachael Wolff
