LUBBOCK, Texas — Lubbock Police are asking parents to keep a closer eye on their children, after 32 kids went missing at the South Plains Fair.
Luckily, all 32 were later found, and reunited with their families, but police said it’s happening too frequently for their liking.
“That first night we had 17 kids go missing, we found them all, but the kids sometimes can just be traumatized,” said Captain Ray Mendoza, Lubbock Police Department. “It becomes our top priority to find these kids though and get them back to their parents.”
However, when this happens a majority of police resources are spent looking for a child, instead of policing the area. Accoridng to LPD, even when this happens, safety is still their first objective, but they have to find the child at all costs.
“That’s because you just never know if it’s a separation issue, or if the child has been taken,” Mendoza said. “Either way, we have to stop everything that we are doing and go out and look.”
If you do get separated from your child though, LPD encourages you to mark their headquarters in the fair as the location of your meet up.
