Deputies find abducted South Carolina girl in Arkansas using Flock Safety network, but search was delayed by damaged cameras
More Flock cameras in South Carolina could have helped to find a girl who was abducted earlier this week, according to investigators—but some cameras had been damaged.
Spartanburg County Sheriff Bill Rhyne said that for 23 hours, authorities were searching for Riley Berryhill, who was reported to be missing, including going door-to-door along the highway to get security footage, per 7News. They also used footage from Flock cameras to help identify a vehicle that was used in the girl's abduction, which was identified as a Chevrolet Malibu with owner 31-year-old Brandon Britten.
Britten and his wife were later arrested after police found the girl safe in Arkansas.
However, half of the Flock cameras in the city of Woodruff, where the abduction took place, had been damaged previous to the incident. Out of the six cameras in the city, three were not functioning properly, according to Woodruff Police Chief Gregory Ryan. The city said that the cameras would take two weeks to repair after the damage was reported.
“The trick to it is the number of damaged cameras throughout the country. They only have so many technicians that can get out on site,” Ryan added. One of the cameras on Highway 101, where the Malibu had driven through, could have helped in the investigation, but it was damaged in July. This comes as there has been backlash against Flock for installing the cameras, which use AI to keep track of license plates as cars drive by. They are used on a consistent basis to stop crime as well as track down suspects.
“Without this technology let me make it very clear we would be at a complete standstill,” Rhyne said.
“Honestly it’s very scary for me because without the other camera that did capture the vehicle with this tag, we don’t know if we ever would’ve found her," Ryan added.
Ryan said that he was aware of backlash against Flock throughout the country, but added that "criminal activity is never the answer."
He added, "It’s incredibly frustrating and disheartening to me to know that people are out there damaging such a useful tool for law-enforcement because of some bad actors.”
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