(Surrey, BC) The Langley RCMP credit Realty Watch, the community crime prevention program of Lower Mainland Realtors, with the swift discovery and return of a missing Langley teenager on May 23, 2006.

“We were very happy to see that the program works so well, especially in this situation of a missing person or runaway when anything could happen,” says Cst. Ryan Forbes, one of the investigating officers in the case. “Realty Watch saved us a lot of time and most importantly got her home safe and sound.”

Roxanne Stockly, called Breanna by her friends and family, was reported missing by the Langley RCMP on Monday, May 23. She is 19 years old but is special needs and has the thought process of a young child. Her foster family had not heard from her since the day before, nor did she show up at school on Monday. Police alerted Realty Watch Monday afternoon. A text message with Breanna’s description was issued to all Fraser Valley Realtors as an urgent message at 2:15 pm. Delivery takes approximately 15 minutes and goes to all Realtors’ cell phones, blackberries or PDAs and email.

Langley Realtor Georgina Pister of Sutton Group Westcoast Realty, was on her way to a 3:00 pm hair appointment with longtime friend and hairstylist Barb Guran when she received the fan-out message on her cell phone.

“I read it in the car literally five minutes before I walked into Barb’s house,” explained Georgina. “And here’s Ashley, Barb’s daughter, in the middle of telling her mother about her friend ‘Breanna’ who everyone’s worried about because she didn’t show up at school today.”

Recognizing the name, Georgina showed Barb Guran the Realty Watch text message on her phone and as they were reading it aloud together, the Guran’s home phone rang. It was Breanna calling to talk to Ashley. Barb Guran immediately phoned the Langley RCMP on her cell phone and provided them with the information to locate Breanna Stockly. She was reunited with her foster family that same day.

Cst. Forbes says this success illustrates how “crime prevention isn’t just the police’s job, it’s the entire community working together. So, finding out that Realtors not only receive and look at these messages but also share them, is huge.”

Photo: Georgina Pister, Sutton Group Westcoast Realty; Barb Guran