05/28/2026
Last night, many residents of Pocopson Township were concerned by the sight and sound of helicopters and drones in the air. In a post-Cavalcante world, you can understand why people living near the County Prison would be concerned by this. However, no inmates escaped, no detained criminal juveniles escaped, and there was no danger to the public. Most people don’t know this, but the Chester County Youth Center has two facilities within it: A juvenile detention center AND a shelter for youth. The youth in the shelter are not treated like criminals because they’re not criminals. They’re not locked up, or locked in for that matter. Last night, the County sent out an alert to nearby residents to share that a teen girl DID run away and that state police were searching for her, and I’m pleased to share that she has been located and is safe. Here’s the backstory:
Chester County has a facility we call the Youth Center. It has two parts. One part is a juvenile detention facility for adjudicated minors who have committed crimes or await trial. Another part of the facility acts as a shelter. The shelter houses youth, but they are NOT being criminally detained. That’s an important distinction. They live there, much like a young person might live with foster parents or live in a group home of some kind. They aren’t supposed to run away, but they aren’t locked in either. So, much like some teenagers run away from home, teenagers housed in the shelter occasionally leave on their own volition. Staff try to stop them, but the staff can’t tackle them like they could if the teen were a detained criminal. In situations like this, the protocol is for the County to call the police, much like you would do if your teenager ran away from home. The police then treat it as a missing person case and search for them. This does happen from time to time at the Youth Center. So what’s different about last night?
What’s different is that police used drones and helicopters to search for the missing teenager in an area near the County Prison. When the County got word that the police were using drones and helicopters, we put out an alert using ReadyChesco to nearby residents. A reverse-911 call also went out. The township also sent out an email. While these communications certainly encouraged the community to help locate her, they were also meant to tell people what was happening, dispel rumors, and reassure that there was no threat to the public or reason to panic.
I’m pleased to share that the missing teen has been located and is safe. The residents who received the ReadyChesco alert last night should soon get another one letting them know she has been located. Again, not all the juveniles housed at the Youth Center are detained. Some are simply housed there. Those teens have different legal rights than teens that are locked up for criminal offenses. And Pennsylvania’s talented state troopers are good at what they do. They find missing people all the time, and they’ve got the tools to do it. That’s just what they did last night, and I’m grateful for their successful efforts. However, it’s not lost on me that seeing drones and helicopters near the county prison brings back a lot of painful memories and rightfully had a lot of people very concerned. As your county commissioner, I wanted to make sure I explained this publicly in case it’s helpful to you.
