(L-R) Capt. Stephen Ortiz, Lt. Kristi Bednarski, Chief Robert McNally, First Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood, Det. Jason Gould, Prosecutor Robert Carroll, Det. Supervisor Stephanie Merced, Det. Tom Spautz, Amanda Brewster, CAP Tia Manochio, Sgt. Janine Buchalski, and Deputy Chief Jan-Michael Monrad.
Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, First Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood, and Chief of Detectives Robert McNally issued commendations to members of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Missing Persons Unit for their efforts in identifying an unknown teenager found knocking on a resident’s door in Randolph last spring.
The commendations were presented during a ceremony on October 24, 2024.
The following members were honored:
- Chief Assistant Prosecutor Tia Manochio
- Sergeant Janine Buchalski
- Detective Supervisor Stephanie Merced
- Detective Tom Spautz
- Detective Jason Gould
- Amanda Brewster
On May 31, 2024, the Randolph Police notified the MCPO Missing Persons Unit that they received a 911 call regarding an unidentified person banging on a resident’s door. The unidentified person, believed to be a juvenile, gave limited information as to their identity.
What followed was a lengthy investigation to identify the individual, which necessitated collaboration with several law enforcement and partner agencies, ultimately sending MCPO investigators to several dead ends around the country for weeks. A break in the case came when Det. Gould, utilizing social media, discovered a lead which pointed investigators to Ontario, Canada. Canadian authorities were able to identify the person found in Randolph as a 17-year-old juvenile who came into the United States illegally and had a juvenile history.
On July 23, 2024, after weeks of working with multiple agencies in the United States and Canada, the juvenile was remanded into custody and eventually transported from Newark International Airport to Halifax, Canada, where the teenager was taken into custody by Canadian authorities.
Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll said, “This was a difficult case with several obstacles and dead ends. However, the members of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office were relentless in identifying this wayward teenager, and ultimately, justly apprehending and transferring them to the appropriate agency. We also recognized the many law enforcement and partner agencies which lead to the closure of this case, including the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, New Jersey State Missing Persons Unit, and various agencies in New York, Delaware, Tennessee, and New Jersey.”