TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Back in April, 8 On Your Side photojournalist Malik Parler helped find a missing 11-year-old girl.
On Tuesday, the Tampa Police Department gave him an appreciation award from the chief.
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Parler wears many titles: husband, photographer at WFLA, friend, and his most important title: father. He said it was his fatherly instincts that kicked in when he located the missing girl and helped get her home to safety.
“She’s a young lady, so for her getting home was the most important thing for me, to get her home,” Parler said.
Parler is normally behind the camera, documenting anything from breaking news to different community events. On Tuesday, he was in front of the camera for a change as TPD thanked him for his assistance in bringing home the missing girl.
Malik Parker with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and a TPD official during his award ceremony (WFLA)
“I’m the person that’s behind the camera; I’m a behind the scenes guy. I don’t like the forefront, even if I do something for someone, you would never hear about it,” he said.
“He got out there just working his job, like he normally does working his story, but then he’s attentive to what’s going on in his surroundings. He’s paying attention, when he sees this young girl, he doesn’t just call it in and then leave, he keeps eyes on her until the officers can get to her,” said Assistant Chief for TPD Brett Owen.
In mid-April, the alert from TPD went out about the missing girl and possible locations. Malik heard the scanner, spotted her, called her name, and followed her until she got home safely.
“She started running towards, I told dispatch: she’s darting, she’s leaving, until I looked at the lights. I was like okay; I think this is her home because everyone’s sitting on the couch, the blinds are up, and they came out,” Parler said.
Assistant Chief Brett Owen said they take every missing child case seriously.
“Particularly, in this case, because she had wandered away from home early in the afternoon all the way into the wee hours of the morning when Malik ran across her,” he said. “That’s a long time to be gone.”
Bringing her home brought out emotions for her family, as well as WFLA’s beloved photographer.
“That’s where the emotion came from because of my kids. So, I’m a father first before everything,” Parler said.
The seasoned journalist said you do not always see a happy outcome in missing persons cases, so he is thankful he could play a part in ensuring the girl’s safe return.
“Our job is to help the community, and that’s basically what we’re doing,” he said. “We’re here to help the community first, and that’s what made me become a journalist.”
TPD said not only is he deserving of this appreciation award, but they hope other people will be as vigilant as Parler.
“We truly appreciate it,” Owen said. “This could have been a much worse outcome, but because of him, it’s not.”
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