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The boy didn’t realize they weren’t behind him when he excitedly dashed onto the wrong Hudson–Bergen light rail Friday morning at Exchange Place.
You could understand his enthusiasm -- visiting a busier-than-usual New York City blessed by beautiful weather during a momentous anniversary.
Realizing his mistake, the boy got off at the next stop, NJ Transit K9 Officer Michael Brown said.
He pulled out his cellphone, called the Sheraton Lincoln Harbor Hotel in Weehawken -- where his family was staying – and “told them he was lost and didn’t know where he was,” the officer told Daily Voice.
A hotel employee contacted the parents, who’d already gotten on the next train and were at the Hoboken terminal with a newborn trying to explain to police that their other child was missing.
“They spoke Spanish and very little English," said Brown, 34, of Morris County, "but it was enough for us to figure out that the boy was somewhere in the Washington and Second Street area of Jersey City.”
“These things do happen, unfortunately, especially when there’s lots of people moving about,” the seven-year NJT veteran said. “It’s all hands on deck. Everyone does their part."
The one thing responders don’t do, he said, is rush to a single spot. “You choose locations and fan out,” the veteran officer said.
Brown was already in the area, so he made his way to Second Street.
By that point, the boy had told a couple he came across what happened. They stayed with him, then flagged down the officer as he approached.
Once the boy was in the car, Brown turned on the light in back so he could see his K-9 partner, Rudy. They talked about the family's visit to Times Square and the boy's favorite basketball team, (who else?) the Houston Rockets, among other things.
Mom and Dad were in the plaza outside the Hoboken terminal when the police car pulled up. They hugged their son tight and thanked Brown and his colleagues for their help.
Brown drove away impressed.
“To his credit, the boyo wasn’t frantic or upset. He was very calm and composed,” the officer said. “The first thing he thought was to get off the train and call the hotel.
“Thanks to him, we had him back with his parents about 20 minutes from when they got separated. Not bad.”
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