Missing juvenile found safe after multi-agency search
Sparta. A missing juvenile who left home in Sparta Township on July 8 was found unharmed in Andover Township after a multi-agency search involving local police, a K-9 unit and a thermal imaging drone.
| 10 Jul 2026 | 01:18
A missing juvenile was found unharmed Wednesday evening after an extensive multi-agency search that began in Sparta Township and ended in Andover Township, police said.
The Sparta Township Police Department responded at approximately 5:21 p.m. July 8 to a report of a juvenile who had left home earlier in the day and had not returned.
Officers immediately began searching parks, beaches, walking paths and other locations the juvenile was known to frequent. Detectives and supervisors coordinated the investigation while following up on leads and sharing information with neighboring law enforcement agencies after determining the juvenile may have traveled outside Sparta.
Police issued a regional “be on the lookout” alert and entered the juvenile into the National Crime Information Center database as a missing person. Officers also reviewed surveillance video, interviewed witnesses and coordinated with surrounding jurisdictions.
The investigation led officers from the Andover Township Police Dept. to recognize the juvenile from an earlier sighting, helping narrow the search area. The Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office joined the investigation, while the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office deployed a K-9 team and the Newton Police Department provided its drone unit.
Using a drone equipped with thermal imaging, Newton Police Detective Erik Soroka located the juvenile along a wooded tree line. The juvenile was found unharmed, evaluated by emergency medical personnel as a precaution and reunited with family members.
The Sparta Township Police Department thanked the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, Andover Township Police Department, Newton Police Department, Detective Erik Soroka, the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, New Jersey State Police, Atlantic Health System EMS, Lakeland Bus Lines and the dispatchers, patrol officers, detectives and supervisors who assisted with the search.
Police said the incident demonstrated the importance of rapid communication and cooperation among law enforcement agencies in safely locating missing children.
The department also reminded the public that there is no waiting period to report a missing child and urged anyone who believes a child is missing or in danger to contact local police immediately.
