L to R: Iris Mota, Alva Garcia, Robert Johnson and Patricia Krautheim

On Sunday, October 26, 2008, the Tampa Regional Communication Center notified Duty Officer Rosalva Garcia, Ft. Myers Communication Center, of a possible parental abduction reported at the 213 mile marker in Sarasota County that involved a father in a white Ford pickup and a mother with three children in a silver Suzuki traveling southbound on I-75 from Hillsborough County.

Duty Officer Paul Everett broadcasted the vehicle information to responding units. Troopers Xavier Beorlegui and Kenneth Watson met with the father at the 210 mile marker. After evaluating the situation, a BOLO (Be on the look-out) for the mother’s vehicle was issued to surrounding agencies. The North Port Police Department conducted a traffic stop on the mother at the 177 mile marker. Trooper Jeff Van Arsdale responded to that location and talked to the mother and children. It was subsequently determined the children legally belonged with the father. Trooper Van Arsdale successfully reunited the children with their father.

Thanks to Duty Officers Rosalva Garcia, Paul Everett, Michelle Wallis, Robb Liberty, Iris Mota, Robert Johnson, Toya Smith, and Patricia Krautheim, and others in Tampa and Lake Worth for collecting all of the vital information needed to bring this incident to a successful conclusion. Without the extra efforts and teamwork of our troopers and duty officers the outcome may have been much different for this family.