JAMESBURG: Community helps find missing boy

By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer
   JAMESBURG — It was a local postal worker who saved the day when a 9-year-old went missing Tuesday morning.
   Police enlisted the help of the Jamesburg Post Office after receiving a call from John F. Kennedy School employees between 9:15 and 10 a.m. The call notified officers that the student never showed up for class.
   ”The mail people are out all day long,” said Lt. James Craparotta, spokesman for the Jamesburg Police Department. “They are walking up and down the streets.”
   Along with the postal service workers, nearly 100 volunteers, a State Police helicopter and K-9 unit, as well as local police, were dispatched to the scene for coordinated search efforts, he said.
   Around 2:30 p.m., a postal carrier noticed a young boy hiding in some bushes, Lt. Craparotta said.
   ”He thought he was going to be late and didn’t want to get in trouble,” he said of the boy.
   Although the incident cost the borough in overtime pay for police, Mayor Anthony LaMantia said the most important thing is that the child was returned home, safe and sound.
   He also said he couldn’t be more touched with the outpouring of support from residents and volunteers from fellow communities.
   ”I just wanted to thank everyone for all the work they did,” he said. “Everyone came together in a time of need.”