On Monday afternoon, the 21st of December, three young girls, all 9-year-olds, were declared missing from their homes in Petah Tikva. After the Petah Tikva police station received a distress call from one of the mothers, an officer called United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Alen Malka. The Petah Tikva police officers are more than familiar with Allan and his work in United Hatzalah, and he has organized countless search parties, in cooperation with the police station.

Alen notified United Hatzalah’s Dispatch and Command Center who sent out a message to all the volunteers in the area, and people who have helped in the past. Within minutes, Alen had a team of 35 volunteers ready who joined the police for the search. The police command center strategically spread the volunteers throughout the city and shared all of the necessary details about the missing girls with the EMTs, who began to search.

After a two hour search, the missing girls were found in the nearby town of Nehalim. The three girls had stayed at a friend’s house and failed to communicate with their parents. As soon as the girls were located, volunteer EMT Gal Dover was sent to the location together with an officer, in order to conduct standard health checkups. The night was cold and there was a possibility of the girls catching pneumonia.

Following some basic checkups and assessment, the girls were escorted safely to the police station where they were reunited with their parents. Alen then sent a message to the United Hatzalah volunteers, letting everyone know that the girls were found and were safe and that everyone could stand down. After making sure that all of the volunteers in the field got the message and wrapped up their searches, Alen returned home after another successful search and rescue.

“I love what I do,” said Alen. “The amount of adrenaline I get every time there is a search, it feels like sky-diving, only I am helping people, and possibly saving a life. I am the liaison between the police station in Petah Tikva and the United Hatzalah volunteers in the area. They know to come to me when there is a missing person’s case. I get no greater joy than finishing a successful search, where the person was found safely. The beautiful part about these operations is that the volunteers are all different kinds of people who just want to help. Anyone can help save a life, and I encourage everyone to join this family of giving and good-hearted people.”

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