A Florida mother’s public plea for her missing teenage son turned into a live rescue announcement when the sheriff’s briefing was interrupted by the words she had spent two days waiting to hear.
Benjamin Adcock, 16, had left his family’s St. Augustine home Saturday, and his mother, Olga, was beside St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick on Monday as the search entered its second day.
Hardwick was updating reporters when a voice off camera broke in. “They found him,” the person said.
The sheriff stopped as the news reached the podium, then moved toward the pink-clad mother standing next to him.
“Oh my goodness gracious. Okay,” Hardwick said before hugging Olga.
Benjamin, who has schizophrenia and autism, was alive after an effort that had sent deputies, K9 teams, drones, helicopters, foot crews and a volunteer civilian search group through the area.
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His mother’s fear gave way to relief. “Praise the Lord. Oh, my soul. Wow. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you so much,” Olga said.
Hardwick kept an arm around her and said his office would help the family secure a tracking device for Benjamin.
Standing beside a mother who had just learned her son was safe, the sheriff said the moment was enough to make him cry.
“It makes you want to cry, for goodness sake. That’s the best outcome that could actually happen right now: to have a mom next to you right now who says, “God is good,” right? It doesn’t get better than that,” Hardwick said.
The break in the case came from someone who had seen Benjamin’s picture online and contacted the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office after recognizing him, the agency said.
Hardwick said that call brought a 16-year-old boy back to his mother.
“This is a citizen, paying attention, not afraid to call the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and bringing a 16-year-old boy home to his mom, Olga,” Hardwick said.
Benjamin was healthy when he was recovered and was getting medical care, according to the sheriff’s office.
Even with Benjamin back, the agency was still asking the public to help fill in his missing hours from September 12 to September 14.
Before Monday’s call, searchers had been working from a noon Saturday sighting of Benjamin crossing SR 207 southbound.
The area around the Epic Theater plaza had drawn much of the search attention.
In Wyoming, another family was still without the kind of podium miracle Olga received.
Elizabeth “Lizzy” Barrett, 17, left through her bedroom window last Tuesday and had not been reachable since September 8, according to the Wyoming Missing Persons database.
The Fremont County teen’s parents told Cowboy State Daily she took clothes and a maroon backpack, but left behind the working phone that could have kept her in contact.
Her family believes she may have carried two older phones without active cell service instead.
Charles “CJ” Barrett, Lizzy’s father, told the outlet the disappearance was unlike anything she had done before.
He said Lizzy could return without having to explain why she left.
Lizzy is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall and about 134 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
She may have had on a gray sweatshirt, jeans and pink sneakers when she disappeared.
Cowboy State Daily reported that law enforcement had not presented evidence indicating anyone else was involved.
Investigators believe Lizzy left on foot.
Tips about Lizzy’s disappearance can be directed to the Fremont County Sheriff at 307-332-5611 or the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation at 307-777-7181.
In Upstate New York, a wife’s public appeal for her husband ended with a body in the woods.
Dominick Bianchi, 35, was gone from his East Greenbush property by about 10 a.m. Tuesday, only 10 months after he and Julianna Zyra married.
East Greenbush Police said Bianchi did not have his phone or wallet, and his vehicle remained at the home.
Zyra, 33, told News 10 that his Type 1 diabetes made the missing phone especially dangerous because it was connected to his continuous glucose monitor.
“He has a continuous glucose monitor, which is paired to his phone that he doesn’t have,” she said.
She said Bianchi might have had another way to check his blood sugar, but she did not know whether that equipment was with him.
“There’s a way to check his blood sugar without it, but I don’t know if he has that equipment with him,” she said.
The health concern was not the only fear weighing on Zyra.
“He has been struggling mentally for quite some time, and nobody really knows about it,” she said.
Through News 10, she spoke to Bianchi as if he might be watching and told him he was not as alone as he felt.
“Whatever it is that’s going on, there are so many people who care about you and want you to be OK,” Zyra said.
“I know you feel really alone, but there are people who want to help you. If you’re seeing this, please, come home.”
East Greenbush sits about five miles south of Albany, and the search grew beyond local officers.
The East Greenbush Police Department worked with the New York State Police Aviation Unit, Department of Environmental Conservation, Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies.
East Greenbush Police said Sunday, September 13, that Bianchi had been found dead in a wooded area.
“The East Greenbush Police Department extends its deepest condolences to Dominick’s family, loved ones, and all those affected by this tragic loss,” police said. “Our thoughts are with them as they navigate this incredibly difficult time.”
The department also thanked members of the public who helped while Bianchi was missing.
His father-in-law told News 10 the family had welcomed Bianchi into their lives months earlier and was now mourning him.
“Every family has its share of great joy and profound sadness. Four months ago, we experienced the joy of welcoming Dom into our family, and now we feel the intense pain of his loss,” he said. “Dom was a husband, a son, a brother, a nephew, and a friend. He will be so missed by so many people.”
He also singled out East Greenbush Police detectives Michael Guadagnino and Griffin Hotaling for the way they handled the search.
“You promised you would look for Dom as if he was a member of your own family, and you more than fulfilled that promise,” he told them.
