More than 160 law enforcement officers from 27 agencies scrambled into the South Salt Lake City, Utah, police headquarters shortly after 7 a.m on April 7, 2010. Each officer had received a text message that the Utah Child Abduction Response Team (CART) had been activated for a mock child abduction.
"Our goal is to find the child and apprehend the suspect," said Utah CART Commander Jessica Farnsworth. "As this case unfolds, it is going to be just like an activation. We have a child out there who is missing, so we're going to jump right into it."
The mock activation was a test to see if the team conforms to the vision and protocols for national certification. The U.S. Department of Justice started the CART initiative in November 2005.
During the test, actors played the suspect, victim, and witnesses. Members of the media were invited to get a first-hand look at what happens when a child is taken.
"Early this morning, complainant Dan Driver called and reported what he thought was a possible abduction of a small female child," said South Salt Lake City Police Capt. Jack Carruth at the first briefing. "Two more witnesses reported an abduction of a child, and the description matched the first caller."
Helicopters, search dogs, and every resource available to the team were used to help in the search. Utah AMBER Alert Coordinator Paul Murphy sent out flyers, e-mails, and tweets with mock abduction updates, including: "Victim is 13-yr-old, short light curly brown hair" and "Suspect 45-yr-old white male in '01 black Impala 4dr."
Less than 2 hours after the alert was issued, officers found the suspect. "Get out of the car and put your hands up. Do it now!," screamed officers at the actor/suspect. Search dogs quickly picked up the scent of the victim and found her near some trees. Investigators asked the actress/victim what happened. "He took me to this little spot and he said he was going now and not to tell anyone," she said.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff stood next to police chiefs, sheriffs, and CART members and gave this assessment of the drill: "If anyone is thinking of taking a kid in this state, this is going to be the response. No matter where you are in the state, these officers are trained and will work together to find you."
A team of inspectors led by CART Certification Coordinator Floy Turner followed the entire process and recommended that the team be certified. "It is wonderful to see the community come together and wonderful to see law enforcement work together," noted Turner.
On August 5, AMBER Alert Training & Technical Assistance Program Director Phil Keith declared, on behalf of the Office of Justice Programs, that the Utah CART had earned certification. "Utah has raised the standard for CART and what can be brought to the table when a child is abducted," said Keith.
The Utah CART is the seventh team in the country and the first in the West to receive national certification.