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Residents press city for answers about police response after missing-child search
Summary
Multiple residents, including the child’s grandmother and volunteer searchers, told council the community led much of the search for a missing girl and questioned why police did not issue broader alerts or show a sustained, visible presence; speakers asked city leaders and the police chief for a clearer explanation.
Several residents used the citizen-comment period to press the council for answers about the city’s response to a recent missing-child case that ended with the child found in Virginia Beach days later. Pastors, family members and volunteer searchers described grassroots search efforts and questioned police timing and use of public alerts.
"When you sit here and give a speech that this police did everything they could for Mackenzie to come home ... Mackenzie was not found in Waynesboro," Pastor Elaine Rose said, identifying herself as the child’s grandmother and urging the council to explain the department’s actions. Search volunteers described distributing flyers, canvassing neighborhoods and relying on social media to rally hundreds of volunteers; one search organizer said initial police contact was limited and that the mayor learned about the missing child through calls and social media. Speakers repeatedly asked whether a Cody or AMBER-style alert should have been issued given the child’s medical condition and whether the department used all available resources; volunteers said their efforts were critical to locating the child.
Council members thanked speakers and noted the city is relieved the child was found, but the council also faced calls for a fuller explanation and for clearer protocols going forward. Residents asked the council to request a meeting with the police chief and for assurances that protocols for missing children will be reviewed and clarified.
