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Congratulations to Officer Melenni Alzate, recipient of the City of Coral Gables “Officer of the Month,” for the month of April 2025.
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On April 8, 2025, Miami Dade School Police contacted Coral Gables Police to assist in locating a student with Autism that ran away from Coral Gables High School and could not be located. The information that was received was that the Juvenile student was non verbal and could be in danger if left unsupervised. In addition, heavy rains started in the area during the search, making visibility and search efforts more difficult. Due to the juvenile’s condition, this became a coordinated effort among several police agencies and many officers joined in the search.
Officer Alzate used great intuition and headed in the direction of the juvenile’s house which was located in the City of Miami’s jurisdiction. I made contact with a School Board Police Officer who believed that due to the far distance between the school and the juvenile’s house, that it was unlikely that he was heading home. Shortly after, this information was received, Officer Alzate advised over the air that she had the juvenile student in her sight and that he was a block away from his residence. Officer Alzate made contact with the juvenile and stopped him from leaving the area. It was discovered that the student had walked from the school to his residence in the heavy rain.
The juvenile’s mother advised that this was very surprising because he has a fear of rain and does not normally get into situations that will allow him to get wet. The juvenile’s teacher showed up to the scene and advised that due to the juvenile’s condition, he was very concerned for his safety. Officer Alzate actions led to the recovery of a juvenile that was in danger and got him back safely to school personnel.