New procedure used in hunt for Lynn girl located later

LYNN – A 13-year-old Lynn girl reported missing late Wednesday night was found safe in Boston by security at South Station at 12:30 a.m. Thursday.According to Lynn Police, Mitshella Labaty, of 16 Empire St., an eighth-grade student at St. Joseph’s School in Salem, reportedly decided to skip a scheduled half-day of classes on Wednesday and take a train to Boston unbeknownst to her family.Lynn Police Lt. Dave Brown said although the circumstances of Labaty’s whereabouts did not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert, police contacted local television stations, and media outlets requesting assistance.Lynn Police utilized a new procedure called ACIM (A Child is Missing) for the first time, which can be activated to aid in the search of not only missing children, but those afflicted by dementia or Alzheimer’s.The program, which operates out of Florida, allows police to contact operators at the center, record a phone message and quickly forward it to neighborhood and business phone lines within the area where the person was reported missing.More than 1,000 phone calls can be generated within a minute that provide information of the missing person, and instruct people to be on the look out for the person. Police contact information is also given.”We’re not going to use this program every time, but it is certainly a good tool for police to have,” Brown said. “However the circumstances have to warrant its use.”Described as a good student with perfect attendance at school, police said Labaty didn’t have a history of being a runaway, and her disappearance was considered extremely unusual.Labaty later said that she had spent the day at a library and at a Borders Book Store, before she became stranded at South Station when she didn’t have money to return home.Security discovered Labaty when they were about to close the area, and subsequently called MBTA police.The particular target area for the location of Labaty was limited to the Empire Street neighborhood.Brown said the target area could be expanded if necessary.In future situations where an imminent danger exists, and the criteria for an Amber Alert is not met, the police department said they would make use of the program again.There is no cost for law enforcement to use the program.