10/27/2026
❤️ WHEN A CHILD GOES MISSING, BADGES, BOUNDARIES, AND JURISDICTIONS DON'T MATTER. ❤️
AN INCREDIBLE RESPONSE. AN OVERWHELMING SHOW OF SUPPORT. A COMMUNITY UNITED.
Yesterday afternoon, October 26, 2026, when a 4-year-old little girl went missing in the Jenkinsville area of Fairfield County, something truly remarkable happened.
An army of law enforcement officers, first responders, emergency personnel, and concerned citizens answered the call.
Members of the general public showed up in remarkable numbers, ready to volunteer their time, join the search, and do whatever they could to help bring this little girl home. Their willingness to step forward for a child and family they may have never met was a powerful reminder of the compassion and generosity that make our community so special.
What began shortly after 4:00 PM quickly grew into a massive, coordinated search involving agencies and personnel from across South Carolina and beyond. For nearly seven hours, until approximately 10:40 PM, these dedicated men and women worked tirelessly, searching the woods, checking every possible location, and doing everything within their power to find this little girl.
Today, Sheriff Will Montgomery and the entire Fairfield County Sheriff's Office want to express our deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to the extraordinary agencies and individuals who responded without hesitation.
💙 TO OUR INCREDIBLE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE PARTNERS:
🇺🇸 FBI – Columbia Field Division: An extraordinary response from the entire Columbia Field Division. Your willingness to mobilize and stand alongside our deputies speaks volumes about your commitment to the communities you serve.
🚁 South Carolina Law Enforcement Division - SLED : The SLED helicopter crew, bloodhound teams, and Midlands investigators who brought their expertise, resources, and determination to this search.
🐕 South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR): K9 teams, drone operators, and officers responding from Fairfield, Lancaster, and Florence. Your specialized resources and personnel were invaluable.
🚁 Chester County Sheriff's Office: Thank you to your exceptional drone team for responding and assisting with aerial search operations.
💙 Lexington County Sheriff's Department Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT): Thank you for responding and providing your expertise and assistance in coordinating and supporting this large-scale search operation. Comprised of their Emergency Management, Fire, Sheriff's Office, EMS and Communications.
🚒 Fairfield County Fire Service : Our firefighters who stepped up, as they always do, when their community needed them.
🚑 Fairfield County Rescue Squad: Thank you for your dedication, hard work, and willingness to serve alongside us.
❤️ Fairfield County EMS: Your personnel remained on scene throughout the ENTIRE search, from approximately 4:00 PM until 10:40 PM, standing ready to provide medical assistance whenever needed. Your commitment did not go unnoticed.
❤️ TO THE CITIZENS WHO ANSWERED THE CALL: To the countless members of the public who showed up, volunteered to search, offered assistance, and stood ready to help in any way possible, we cannot thank you enough. You didn't have to be there, but you chose to be. That kind of compassion and willingness to help a neighbor in need is what makes Fairfield County such a special place to call home.
And to every deputy, officer, dispatcher, volunteer, and community member who assisted, offered resources, or supported the search in any way — THANK YOU.
📞 THE PHONE CALLS THAT MEANT SO MUCH...
Sheriff Montgomery shared something that truly demonstrates the strength of South Carolina's law enforcement family.
Throughout the evening, his phone continued to ring with calls from sheriffs across our state, each offering assistance, personnel, equipment, or whatever resources might be needed.
In fact, the Sheriff believes he may have heard from most of the Sheriff’s in the State of South Carolina.
Think about that for a moment.
Sheriffs from communities hundreds of miles away were ready to help a little girl in Fairfield County whom they had never met.
That is what the brotherhood and sisterhood of law enforcement looks like. That is what service above self means.
❤️ MORE THAN JUST A SEARCH...
Yesterday was a powerful reminder that when a child's safety is at stake, there are no county lines, no agency boundaries, and no hesitation.
There were no questions about whose responsibility it was.
There were no concerns about whose name would receive recognition.
There was simply one mission:
FIND THAT LITTLE GIRL.
The sheer number of agencies, the specialized equipment, the personnel who traveled from other counties, and the overwhelming offers of assistance were nothing short of incredible.
We have always known that South Carolina has some of the finest law enforcement officers and first responders in the nation.
Yesterday, we witnessed it firsthand.
Sheriff Montgomery and the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office are humled by the response and deeply grateful for every person who answered our call for help.
To our fellow law enforcement agencies, first responders, volunteers, and citizens:
You showed up. You stood beside us. You reminded us that we are never alone when our community needs help.
From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU. ❤️
