By Zach Mentz
cleveland.com
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A deputy reunited a lost girl who became separated from her mother on a Florida beach.
Bodycam footage shared by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office shows Deputy Geoff Moore locating the girl while driving his vehicle on Indian Rocks Beach, located about 45 minutes west of Tampa. He was able to find the girl after her mother provided a description and a recent photo of her, according to PCSO.
“Are you (child’s name)?” Moore says after parking next to the girl and waving to her.
“Yeah,” she responds.
“Mom’s looking for you,” he says. “Let’s go find her.”
“I miss my mommy,” the girl tells Moore. He asks if she needs a hug before the two embrace.
Moore drove the girl down the beach and reunited her with her mother in front of a crowd of onlookers who clapped in celebration.
“Any time you take your kids to a crowded location, consider taking a photo of them in their current outfits so if the unthinkable occurs - your child is lost - they can be located as quickly as possible,” PCSO said in a statement.
PCSO also advised parents who bring their children to a beach to beware it’s “very easy for a child to slip away or get swept far out by a current,” adding, “it only takes seconds.”
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