Helped with knock, talks to find Brewton teen

The Covington County Sheriff’s Department is among the agencies that have assisted the law enforcement officers in Brewton in searching for a 16-year-old last seen Sunday night.

Sheriff Dennis Meeks said Escambia County’s chief deputy asked for assistance, and several local officers went to help.

“They needed help doing knock and talks in the neighborhood, and in some areas where they were doing foot searches,” Meeks said.

Brooke Lee Bridges, 16, was last seen Sunday night at the family’s home on Cottage Hill Drive in the Alco area, near Jefferson Davis Community College. Parents Jimmy and Lisa Bridges reported they awoke Monday morning to a wide-open front door and their daughter missing.

Mrs. Bridges said Brooke left without shoes and jacket, wearing pajamas and her classes and carrying her cell phone. She described her daughter as a happy child and one who would not runaway.

The FBI is assisting the Brewton Police Department with the investigation. The Klaas Foundation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, others from neighboring counties on ATVs and foot continued with the search of wooded areas in the Alco community Friday.

Meeks said his department offered to bring tracking dogs, Meeks said.

“They had already used several dogs at their disposal,” he said. “We basically sent some foot soldiers down there to help them.”