CBP employee, wife recognized by Jacksonville Sheriffs Office

Bravo Zulu

It’s not uncommon to see hazardous and sometimes unsafe drivers on our roads, driving slowly in the passing lane or driving while distracted.

A majority of people tend to ignore it and pass, then go on about their day, but for Tommy Ceparano and his wife Stephanie, something didn’t feel right when they got behind an SUV doing just that.

On the evening of March 3 on a busy road in Jacksonville, Florida, they found themselves behind a vehicle that according to Tom, was, “driving very slow and erratic on San Jose Blvd.,” a busy road in Jacksonville.

“Something was definitely wrong” said Tom, who works at U.S. Customs and Border Protection National Air Security Operations Center Corpus Christi. Luckily for the elderly Florida couple in that SUV, instead of passing the vehicle like others had been, Tom and Stephanie decided slow down and see if the folks inside needed assistance.

Stephanie told Tommy, “That SUV looks like the one from a missing person’s case of an elderly couple on the sheriff’s office website.”

They proceeded to call the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and gave dispatch the SUV’s tag number.

Stephanie was indeed correct.

The sheriff’s office informed them that this was an active Silver Alert and, at that time, requested the Ceparanos keep following the couple until a marked unit could arrive and provide assistance. The elderly couple, according to JSO, had been missing for a few days and were extremely lucky the Ceparanos were vigilant and proactive that day.

According to Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Missing and Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse website, Florida started their Silver Alert system in October 2008. Since the inception of the Silver Alert plan 1,847 alerts have been issued, 135 in 2018 so far.

For their actions, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office awarded Tommy and Stephanie a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of Meritorious Service for their actions that night. Sheriff Mike Williams presented the Ceparanos with their award July 26 during a ceremony in Jacksonville, Florida.

Tommy is a retired Navy Chief P-3 Flight Engineer who now flies with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations out of the National Air Security Operations Center Corpus Christi, Texas. Stephanie is a 20 year, Florida Licensed Dental hygienist currently working in Jacksonville Florida.