Officers question a neighbor as part of the training.
Several Atlantic County law enforcement agencies joined together in Egg Harbor Township on Thursday to save a child.
Residents called into the tipline or answered officers' questions as police canvassed around town to find Abby.
But the 11-year-old girl was not really missing. Her abduction was a scenario crafted to test the agencies’ Child Abduction Response Team, or CART, as it looks to become certified by the Department of Justice.
Spoiler alert: Abby was found safe, and her “abductor” taken into custody.
“Overall, I thought you did an exceptional job,” retired FBI Agent Dave Fallon told the group as they gathered to debrief. “And you got the job done, because you saved the girl.”
He was one of several assessors who will now write up a report that will be sent to the DOJ for approval and final certification.
Second spoiler alert: National CART Coordinator Derek VanLuchene said he expects to return to present the group with their certification once the federal agency has completed the process.
It all started with a radio transmission around 10:30 a.m., letting police know a girl was missing from the township’s Community Center.
Abby was supposed to be in class, but her teacher noticed she was not there. The building and area was searched before the decision was made to call for help.
That’s not an unusual scenario, as people sometimes hesitate to call police, township Capt. Cherie Burgan said. But it should not happen.
An hour — especially with a missing child — is crucial time.
Surveillance video showed Abby leaving the Community Center.It turned out, the girl had set off to meet with someone she met online. She thought it was someone her age. But, as if often the case, it was a man.
The investigation started with some communication issues, was the feedback from several leaders during the debriefing.
That is not unusual, agreed the CART assessors.
Chaos comes first, and then communication issues.
VanLuchene said if there had not been any issues at the start, they would have been suspicious that the group already knew what to expect and had “studied” for their test.
But township Detective Sgt. Brett Fair created the scenario that was kept under wraps so those participating would not know what to expect.
Things got moving along as each group did their job, and roles started to fall into place.
K-9 dogs went to the Community Center to follow a trail the real Abby had left earlier. Interviews were conducted of “witnesses,” and the investigation grew from there.
There was even an “evidence scene” that turned out not to be related to the exercise. (According to a radio transmission, it was a pair of underwear.)
But separating the pertinent clues from the unrelated also is part of real-life investigations.
A resident is interviewed at Tony Canale Park.At Tony Canale Park, investigators stopped residents wearing green stickers announcing they were “in play” as part of the exercise.
The officers filled out paperwork to show who they interviewed, and what each person had to offer.
Three mailboxes at the Village Grande off Mill Road also had the stickers, letting officers know the investigation had led them to the right place.
One woman first told police she had not seen or heard anything, then looked at the card she had been provided as part of the script.
“Oh, I should have said yes. I do have something,” she said before telling police she heard a scream that sounded like it came from the direction of Wawa.
A green sticker on a Village Grande mailbox shows the resident is part of the mock scenario.At another home, Theresa Stevens told the officers she saw a young girl walking across the street, and then a truck came. The girl was briefly out of her vision, and then she didn’t see her again.
The man was wearing a blue or black baseball cap, she said.
Stevens said she was happy to be part of the training process.
“If it saves a child, I mean, that’s the utmost goal for anybody, so it was no problem with saying yes,” she told BreakingAC. “If it teaches them what to look for or how to save a child who’s in danger, hat’s off to them. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Theresa Stevens talks to officers.The investigation eventually led to the shopping center off English Creek.
Police spotted a suspicious vehicle near the ShopRite, and were ready to go in.
But Jeremy Hartman was not giving in easily.
He locked his truck doors, kept the windows up and was properly evasive when questioned.
Hartman has some experience. The real-life retired Hamilton Township patrolman later told BreakingAC that officers learn how suspects like that react.
Finally, though, he was taken into custody. Abby ran from the truck to her mother’s waiting arms.
Abby runs to "safety."Kim Ewe said she was glad to lend her daughter to the exercise.
She didn’t really have a choice. Her best friend since childhood is Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Lt. Lynne Dougherty, who coordinated the training.
It also served as a good discussion-starter for with Abby, who just got her own phone. Her mother said they have had discussions about social media and the dangers.
Meanwhile, Abby said she enjoyed her day, although she did get a little scared when the police showed up.
She also had her own message for kids: “Don’t be dumb. Just don’t. If you don’t know somebody, don’t talk to them. Don’t talk to strangers.”
Abby 
