For Immediate Release

Thomasville, GA - The U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force located a missing “endangered” juvenile late Wednesday night in the 400 block of West Webster Street in Thomasville, GA. The Marshals task force was contacted around 3:00PM yesterday by the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office located in Eastman, GA for assistance after developing information indicating the juveniles were possibly in the area. According to Lt. Donald Helm, two juveniles, 16 year old Jamila Roberson and 17 year old Hermina Brown, disappeared from the campus of Dodge County High School on Tuesday, October 13. Lt. Helm had been working the case non-stop since the disappearance, but the case turned from a runaway investigation into an abduction investigation when a school mate received a text message from Jamila Roberson indicating she was being held against her will by two white males in an abandoned house. Dodge County officials contacted the U.S. Marshals for assistance in locating Roberson and Brown due to the nature of the information their office had received. U.S. Marshals and Task Force Officers responded from Tallahassee, Florida and along with the help of the Thomas County Sheriff’s Office and the Thomasville Police Department located Jamila Roberson within hours of the request. Interviews of the residents of the home where Jamila Roberson was located indicated she had no known family ties to the residence, but that Roberson may have been picked up in the Macon, GA area sometime last week and willingly transported to Thomas County. Herimina Brown was not located at the residence and officials are still following up on leads on Brown’s whereabouts. Lt. Helm of the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office immediately responded to Thomas County and took custody of Jamila Roberson after notifying her family she had been located.

U.S. Marshal Dennis Williamson stated the “outstanding cooperation between the federal, state, and local agencies working this case brought about the safe return of Jamila Roberson last night.” Marshal Williamson also stated “a missing child is any parent’s worst nightmare, especially when there is evidence of abduction.” The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office request brought a large contingent of law enforcement officers out to search for Roberson and Brown to include Task Force Officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, Tallahassee Police Department, Leon County State Attorney’s Office, along with several members of the Thomas County Sheriff’s Office and the Thomasville Police Department.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.

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