Following confirmation that a child has escaped, Front Half residents were ordered back to their rooms under threat of severe punishment. With only four official security staff including himself, Trevor Stackhouse rapidly augmented his team by drafting Ruby Red operatives Denny Williams and Robin Lecks, and two heavyset caretakers, Joe Brinks and Chad Greenlee. Two village-based security men, Rafe Pullman and John Walsh, arrived via the golf-cart track that Maureen Alvorson had expected Luke to discover.

As the hastily formed search party gathered, Denny identified the escapee as the “Minnesota boy” they had transported the previous month. Stackhouse confirmed the boy had severed his earlobe—likely with a knife—to remove the embedded tracker, and crawled under the fence, leaving blood at multiple points.

The group debated their chances of finding Luke in the thick woods, noting the absence of tracking dogs and the vast tree cover. Stackhouse planned to follow the blood trail, stating they would not kill the boy but would “zap” him when found. Some, like Chad Greenlee, doubted their ability to locate Luke, while Joe Brinks expressed violent intent, recalling Luke’s defiant demeanor.

Rafe Pullman and John Walsh’s arrival solidified the team, and Stackhouse reiterated the urgency: failure to recapture Luke could jeopardize the entire operation. The plan focused on immediate ground pursuit using visible traces, without waiting for the third security member away at Dennison River Bend.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Sigsby announced she was returning to her office. Stackhouse stopped her to forbid any calls, insisting she should only “think.” Sigsby agreed outwardly but was contemptuous and fearful. Alone in her air-conditioned office, she struggled to think clearly, repeatedly glancing at the locked drawer holding her phone as if it were a dangerous device.