Marlboro Officer Uses Autism Training To Find Missing Girl

On June 6, a young autistic girl went missing from her Marlboro home. found her two streets away in a nearby resident's pool.

Sgt. Steve Levy found the young girl and used his recent Autism Shield Training, which was sponsored by Marlboro SCOPE, a PTO representing the special needs population in town.

"The Autism Shield Training was sponsored by SCOPE and given just three weeks prior to this little girl going missing," a SCOPE news release said.

The training was given by POAC, a non-profit leader for the education of autism services. 

"Through POAC’s research, they have determined that many children with autism are drawn to water. This was a key tip that Gary made sure to emphasize during the training," the release said. "He told the police and first responders that they should know where every body of water in our town is, whether it is swimmable or not, and that should be the first place they look for a missing child with autism."

Patrolman Andrew Goldberg helped to organize the event, which was also open to Marlboro fire departments and first aid squads.