POLICE have praised the use of social media in helping to solve a missing persons case in Bathurst on Sunday.
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Police appealed for public assistance to help locate a 12-year-old girl who went missing from the Adventure Playground.
The girl was last seen at a playground on the corner of Durham and Hope Streets about 1.30pm on Sunday 20 August 2017.
She was last seen wearing a pink long-sleeved top with a dog on the front of it, and black pants with the words ‘work out’ down one leg.
Photographs taken of the child in the park before her disappearance depicting her wearing the clothes she was last seen in were also circulated.
Police from Chifley Local Area Command were alerted of her disappearance and made a desperate appeal for information from the public as they continued their search.
The family uploaded images of the girl on Facebook which went viral, and police media later put out an appeal for information which was shared by news outlets across the country, via their social media platforms.
Thankfully, the 12-year-old girl reported missing was found safe and well at Kelso on Sunday night.
Chief Inspector Luke Rankin, Crime Manager with Chifley Local Area, thanked everyone involved in searching for the girl, and those in the community who helped spread the word by sharing police alerts as they were made.
He said in an incident like Sunday night, or other emergency situations Facebook was a great medium for police to get information out in a timely manner.
He said it was especially helpful on Sunday night as it enabled police to identify crucial witnesses early on in the investigation.
“By being able to identify these people [witnesses] quickly it enabled us to better judge where the investigation was going.
“And some of the witnesses came forward as a direct result of what was posted on social media,” he said.
Chief Inspector Rankin said Chifley police invested an enormous amount of resources into Sunday night’s operation and got very good co operation from groups across the community.
“A lot of people went out of their way to assist us; the SES with the search and we also imposed on many businesses to look at their CCTV and everyone was really helpful.
He also thanked members of the community for coming forward and assisting police with their inquiries.
He said like most things, Facebook has its good side of things and bad side of things, but in this situation was very beneficial to police.
He said police also use Facebook as a means of locating people wanted in relation to outstanding warrants, and other offences like vandalism, shoplifting and graffiti offences, when police need assistance identifying an offender.