The response from police and volunteers has been substantial in the search for a UF student who disappeared Sept. 20.
The Gainesville Police Department deployed officers on horses, aerial units and police dogs as well as officers to assist in the search for Christian Aguilar.
Dozens of law enforcement agencies from throughout the state have donated resources, including officers from Aguilar’s hometown, Doral, Fla., police dogs from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and investigators from the FBI.
GPD spokesman Ben Tobias said officers from different areas, like the department’s Training Bureau, have been moved and temporarily reassigned to investigate Aguilar’s disappearance.
“That’s going to continue as long as we keep getting fresh leads,” Tobias said.
He said police searched about 25 locations around the city Monday.
“It’s very spotty,” he said. “It’s almost like throwing a dart to a map.”
These darts, however, are calculated, Tobias added. The locations are determined by leads and from phone calls to the department.
Alongside police, volunteers traveled to Gainesville to help the Aguilar family find its missing family member.
Tobias said about 300 people, including Gainesville and Miami residents, participated in the search effort Saturday.
“I can’t remember in my eight years here a search that has taken this kind of magnitude,” he said.
Due to the limited number of officers available to manage search teams during the weekend, Gainesville Police limited the number of volunteers who could participate, Tobias said.
Since then, volunteer participation dropped. Tobias said about 20 volunteers helped police with the search Monday and Tuesday.
“We still have volunteers coming out, wanting to give this family some closure,” he said. “I’ve never seen a response like that.”
Volunteers interested in helping with the search can sign up at the Florida Farm Bureau, 5600 SW 34th St. The search will start today at 9 a.m.
This time, anyone will be able to help, and there will be no limit to how many people can participate.
“If you show up, we will find something for you to do,” he wrote on the GPD’s Facebook page.
Miriam Pardo, an Aguilar family spokeswoman, said volunteers will be provided with food, water, supplies and tips from officers.
“They’ll get trained for what they are trying to look out for,” she said.
University Police vans will then take volunteers from the check-in to the search locations from the Florida Farm Bureau.
Because the search for Aguilar is now a search and recovery effort, Tobias cautioned potential volunteers that they need to understand what they’re looking for.
“At this point, you’re searching not for a live person; you’re searching for the victim of a murder,” he said. “We don’t want kids out there. We want people to be fully aware that more than likely what they’re going to discover, if it’s a civilian that discovers it, is going to be disturbing.”
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
