City praises effort that located lost 7-year-old

The community mobilization that successfully located a missing Carbondale girl this week is receiving high praise from all corners.

At Tuesday's meeting of the city council, Mayor Mike Henry read a statement thanking all who helped in the search for 7-year-old Patrice Dotson, who disappeared around 6 p.m. Monday from outside her home in the 600 block of West Cherry Street. City employees found her around 1:45 p.m. the next day off of North Marion Street near the former Koppers site - roughly 2 miles from where she disappeared. Dotson was looked over at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale and released.

Carbondale Police continue to investigate the circumstances of Dotson's disappearance. At Tuesday's meeting of the city council, held just hours after Dotson was found, Henry expressed "gratitude and admiration" to the many members of the community that came together to assist in the search.

"I am very proud of our team," Henry said. "Because of their effort, this little girl is alive. This truly exhibits how our region can come together."

Henry and the police specifically thanked all Carbondale city employees, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, the SIU Police Department, the Illinois State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, SIU Aviation, Black Diamond Aviation, the Franklin County Emergency Management Agency, SAR K-9 of Fairview Heights, the Jackson County Emergency Management Agency, the Jackson County 911 Office, the Jackson County State's Attorney's Office and local media outlets.

The search for Dotson brought many members of the public at large into the fold, as neighbors took to the streets to help find the missing member of the community. Councilman Adam Loos praised their efforts at Tuesday's meeting.

"I was amazed at the number of people just on my list of social media who were not just worried about it and sharing it, but were out at night past midnight, well past midnight, with flashlights looking for this young girl," Loos said.