Update 10:30 AM: The two missing chabad girls Rivka Moshe and Brocha Katz who were Missing In Orlando were found safe
Kissimmee, FL – Members of multiple law enforcement agencies continue to search for two missing high school girls from North Miami who were last seen leaving for a Shabbos afternoon walk while on a high school weekend in the Orlando area.
Rivka Moshe and Bracha Katz, both 16 years old and students at the Lubavitch Educational Center’s Beis Chana High School, were attending the school-wide event at the Caribe Cove Resort by Wyndham in Four Corners, located west of Kissimmee.
An official with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that they are investigating a case involving missing juveniles but declined to give any further details.
Members of Miami Hatzolah and Chesed Shel Emes are on their way to the area, located approximately three and a half hours north of Miami.
Mark Rosenberg of Chesed Shel Emes told TOT News that the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement have been called in and that the Department of Homeland Security has been notified.
Rosenberg said that crews are actively searching the area for the two girls.
Katz’s sister Devorah Katz Shor posted a request for prayers for the two missing teens on Facebook late Saturday night.
“Please say tehillim for my sister Brocha tefillah bas yisraelis rivka and her friend rivka bas tziporah,” wrote Mrs. Shor. “They were on a school shabbaton in Orlando and went for a walk.
They were supposed to be back by 5:30 but haven’t been seen since. Police, helicopter and K9 are searching.”
UPDATE (1:09 AM):
Florida State Police have taken over the investigation from the city police.
Hatzalah volunteer medical service are working with them and should be on the ground in an hour, people involved in the case told TOT.
40 local women have spontaneously gathered for a Hakhel event to say Tehillim and pray for the safety and speedy return of the girls.
Update 2:30 AM:
Chabad mobilized a team of 50 volunteers (and counting). Waiting for instructions from local authorities, local Shliach Rabbi Sholom Dubov reports.
Volunteers will begin distributing ‘Missing Person’ flyers canvassing the entire area. Teams from Daytona and Palm City have arrived.
“The police are overwhelmed with the amount of people who showed up and as of yet haven’t let them in area,” one of the volunteers on the ground reported.
Update 3:30 AM:
Team of volunteers leave command center to canvas six mile radius with ‘missing person’ flyers.
Update 4:30 AM:
6 Chabad search teams canvassed a 2-mile area of all open businesses. Search continues at daylight. South Florida team arrives.
The sheriff’s office said a ‘FLIR’ equipped helicopter searched nearby woods earlier and no heat signature was detected. Search will resume soon.
Update 8:15 AM:
Rabbi Mendy Levy said that as of this morning there was “really nothing to update, we really need everyone to [pray].”
“Throughout the night searches were underway utilizing helicopters with infra-red cameras to search the nearby woods, along with dozens of volunteers who searched and distributed hundreds of flyers to nearby homes, businesses and a nearby construction site.
“We need volunteers to come to Orlando and give us a hand with the search. We have members of Hatzolah, Chesed Shel Emes, and Miami Search and Rescue all on sight.
“We are now mobilizing to restart our search in daylight” he said. People who want to volunteer should contact Rabbi Mendy Levy at (305) 342-6665
Update 9:00 AM:
Deputies asking anyone with information that may help them find the teens to call the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office at (407) 348-2222.
