LAURINBURG, N.C. – As previously reported, four-year-old Raul Gonzalez went missing from his home Wednesday, January 24, in which an Amber Alert was issued.
Authorities announced Saturday that a body was found in a pond near Gonzalez’s home, and “believed” it to be Gonzalez. The Scotland County Medical Examiner’s Office is currently working to identify the body and cause of death.
But just 15 miles away, personnel from the Hamlet first responder community immediately joined in the search for the boy, as did a Hamlet City Council member.
Captain Randy Dover and Lieutenant Richard Jordan of the Hamlet Police Department joined Hamlet Fire and Rescue personnel Fire Chief Calvin White, Carlton Gainey, Billy Gibson, Richard Lassiter, Justin Pruitt, Donavan Williams, and Hamlet City Council Mayor Pro-Tem Jonathan Buie in the Scotland County search.
“We have a reciprocation agreement with Scotland County and other surrounding counties to provide assistance, if feasible, at times such as this,” said Captain Randy Dover of the HPD.
While that is technically correct, what Dover would not elaborate on (out of modesty) is the fact that, in reality, there is no real mandate to do so. Each and every one of the individuals who drove down Highway 74 to Laurinburg volunteered their time to help in trying to find a missing little boy.
They gave no thought or had any concern as to exactly where the boundary lines of responsibility may lie; they responded to an emergency situation out of an intrinsic sense of doing the right thing and helping others during a time of dire need.
“It’s a four-year old, so it makes no difference as to whether it was in Richmond, Scotland, or any other county around here,” said Dover. “Anyone else would have done the same thing.”
One of those “anyones” who responded certainly had no obligation to provide personal assistance, particularly in another county. Buie accompanied the police officers and remained at the scene, actively searching around designated areas for several hours well into the night.
A body was found in a pond off Pea Bridge Road, roughly 800 yards from the Gonzalez home. At the time of this publication, no other official word from Scotland County Sheriff Ralph Kersey or the FBI (which assisted on the case) was available.
