Found Safe FL - Justin Dean Shields, 19, FSU Campus, Leon County, 5 Sep 2018

LCSO just posted an update with more info about locating JS:

19 year old Justin Shields was recovered this afternoon. FWC, FSUPD and LCSO discovered him in a wooded area, miles away from the main roadway, Old Magnolia Road. He was dehydrated but is expected to recover. Search dogs (scent evidence) took us to Justin’s immediate area. He has been transported to a local hospital. Great job by all!

Leon County Sheriff's Office
 
LCSO just posted an update with more info about locating JS:

19 year old Justin Shields was recovered this afternoon. FWC, FSUPD and LCSO discovered him in a wooded area, miles away from the main roadway, Old Magnolia Road. He was dehydrated but is expected to recover. Search dogs (scent evidence) took us to Justin’s immediate area. He has been transported to a local hospital. Great job by all!

Leon County Sheriff's Office

Incredible news! So happy.

Very curious to see if they release anymore info. So he was wandering the wooded area near where his car was found for 2 days?

Great police work and great work by the dogs. I was not expecting a happy ending.
 
LCSO provides update on missing FSU student found over the weekend
LCSO deputies say Shields was found naked in the woods off Old Magnolia Road after four days of searching. Officials say when he was found, Shields was dehydrated and disoriented and was Baker Acted for further evaluation.

Shields remains hospitalized.

LCSO spokesman Dave Teems said there's no indication of any hazing or foul play and no indication anyone else was involved.
 

Sounds like a mental break. College is incredibly stressful and he's approaching the age where some forms of mental illness will begin to show so this isn't really a total shock. Hope he gets the help he needs and is able to recover fully.

It's amazing he's still alive. Out there naked with nothing, if the police weren't so proactive and didn't keep trying again and again with the K9 units I don't think he would have made it all that much longer, especially in the mental state he was found in. Sounds like they thought he might have been in the pond at first.
 
Missing Florida State student Baker Acted after being found disoriented in the woods
Speculation swirled over the weekend that Shields, who is a member of Florida State University’s FIJI fraternity, may have been involved in a hazing ritual.

That, however, is not the case, Teems said.

“We have no indication that any fraternity was involved with this, any hazing was involved with this or any foul play whatsoever was involved with this,” he said. “It appears Mr. Shields drove out there and began to walk around the area.”
Teems couldn’t discuss what led investigators to involuntarily admit Shields to the hospital but said a Baker Act is used when a person clearly needs help.

“Baker Act is used when someone is unable to take care of themselves,” he said. “When we got ahold of him he was dehydrated and disoriented so we wanted to make sure he had everything he needed.”
 
I wish I could thank the Leon County Sheriff's Office in person for taking this extra step to ensure Justin’s safety.

Clearly, this was a true medical emergency, just like someone having a heart attack or a stroke, and the authorities acted appropriately in treating it as such, IMO.

We see too many tragic cases where a person is taken to the hospital during a psychiatric crisis only to be allowed to leave after an ER physician determines they are not a danger to themselves or others, or due to a lack of beds. I’ve read about cases on WS where this happened even after the individual went to the hospital voluntarily, actively seeking care.

Often in these cases, the staff doesn’t even make sure the patient is being picked up by someone from the hospital, the person goes missing, only for their remains to be found later weeks, months or years later. Would someone with a broken leg or who had just had a diabetic shock be treated like this? Likely not.

I’m sorry for the rant. I am so happy that Justin was found alive and is receiving the care he needs. And I am so grateful to the LE in the case for caring, and handling it the way they did.

It would be great to see outcomes like this more often.
 

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