http://www.sun-herald.com/CHNewsstory.cfm?pubdate=012008&story=tp2ch5.htm&folder=NewsArchive2
01/20/08
Charlotte County Sheriff's Office rallies around victim's family
NORTH PORT -- Sgt. Richard Goff has been with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office for 24 years, at one point working in narcotics and currently heading the Fugitive Apprehension Unit. He has worked with hundreds of people in his time with the agency.
When his daughter went missing, those colleagues responded.
Many were among the 340 law enforcement officers who searched for Denise Amber Lee, 21, in the woods around Interstate 75 from Thursday evening through Saturday afternoon.
"The vast majority of them were here on their time off," said CCSO Major Mark Caro. "We're all someone's child or someone's parent."
Among those helping on search and rescue teams were the three detectives who work with Goff in the Fugitive Apprehension Unit -- Ralph Soberay, Jeff Young and Bradley Murray.
"They felt satisfied they had helped," Caro said.
On Saturday afternoon, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office found the remains of a woman buried near Toledo Blade Boulevard and Interstate 75. It was not known whether the woman was Lee.
"Rick, her dad, wanted her home," said North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis during a press conference. "This isn't the way we, as a team, wanted to bring her home."
Lewis requested the news media respect the Goff family's privacy. They are expected to make a public statement Sunday morning. Caro also said the other detectives in the Fugitive Apprehension Unit were asked to give Goff privacy Saturday. The family's pastor has been with them, as well as victim advocates with the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.
