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FOUND! A search for a missing 11-year-old Elmwood Park girl ended Thursday afternoon when a trio of volunteer firefighters found her safe and sound in a shopping center sandwich shop.
Police pinged Janiah Townes s cellphone to the Elmwood Park Shopping Center on Broadway around 3:30 p.m., then flooded the area with volunteer firefighters and officers, Police Chief Michael Foligno said.
A short time later, Firefighters Alexian Cruz, Mohammed Makanast and Scott Karcz found little Janiah at the Blimpie s a little over two hours after she was reported missing. It was an all-hands-on-deck move, as always, when someone goes missing, Foligno said. Our firefighters were quick to help out.
One of the car s passengers was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center with serious injuries, according to prosecutors, and remained there in stable condition on Tuesday. Other occupants, were uninjured while Lafontant suffered minor injuries.
In addition to his assault charges and the DWI summons, Lafontant is accused of possessing hashish in the form of marijuana edibles and vaping cartridges with intent to distribute the drugs.
He was released and is scheduled to appear in Superior Court on May 7.
Nicholas Katzban is a breaking news reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
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Massiel Deoleo fled her husband, James Cox, several times during their volatile marriage. Once, fearing for her safety, she disabled surveillance cameras he set up, grabbed some belongings and escaped out a window in the middle of the night.
But each time she went back to Cox, or, after her most recent departure several months ago, she kept in contact with him. She believed it was a good idea to keep him in their 5-year-old daughter’s life, her family said.
After she left Cox several months ago, Deoleo moved to Mahwah and planned to go back to school. But those plans and Deoleo s life were suddenly snuffed out when, two weeks ago, Cox shot and killed Deoleo in front of their daughter on Good Friday, before turning the gun on himself at the Carlstadt home he shared with his parents.