Despite increased security at the Homecoming Carnival and After Party Friday, multiple children were reported missing throughout the night.
Multiple students who attended the event report an estimate of roughly five or more children reported missing, with several announcements made onstage before and during the performance by DJ Enferno.
Lt. Charlotte Domingo, public information officer for University Police , said UP has no official number of how many children went missing, but she said all cases ended in the children being reunited with their families.
Officers from UP and AlliedBarton Security were
patrolling the carnival throughout the night. UP officers had a
heightened presence at the event, but Domingo said these situations still occur even with police supervision.
“It is not unusual for children to become separated from the adults accompanying them in carnival-like settings,” she said in an email to The Oracle. “The denseness of the crowd, lights, noise and general confusion can distract both the children and their adult guardians.”
Domingo said UP officers followed all procedures they had in place when the missing children were reported to officers.
“As soon as an officer received information about a child who was lost, it was immediately broadcast to all officers working the event and we began to focus on finding those that had become separated,” Domingo said.
In each reported case, Domingo said, the dispatch went out in less than five minutes.
— Staff report
