JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The missing Jacksonville mother was found Wednesday with a program that uses clues to create a specific search area for first responders.
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It’s a relatively new program called the Missing Endangered Persons Search and Rescue (MEPSAR).
Kayla Bailey was missing from her home since Sunday evening and was found lying on the ground in a wooded area just off a trail within three-quarters of a mile from her home using MEPSAR, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.
Bailey was taken to a nearby hospital and is in stable condition.
“We deployed over 50 officers and firefighters into the field following the data we collected and we built a search engine map,” JSO Sergeant Michael Monts said.
The program was created nearly five years ago after two young Jacksonville children wandered away from their home and into the woods on the city’s Westside.
The technology has been proven to be highly effective. JSO and the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department said in 2024, 174 of 175 missing persons were found thanks to MEPSAR.
“I’m proud that the partnership between JSO and JFRD just continues to work and the MEPSAR program we work with them, we help with the mapping and we make the joint teams of the searchers and together the two agencies were able to bring this to a successful conclusion.”
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