An incredibly concerning headline coming from Cleveland, Ohio has many Americans fearing for the safety of their children. Apparently, the number of missing or runaway children in the state of Ohio is nearly double the amount than other states with similar populations. Examples of the other states include Georgia, North Carolina, and Illinois.
This worrying statistic has sparked panic among parents who are struggling to keep up with the demand for their missing kids.
John Majoy, Police Chief in Newburgh Heights commented earlier this year that cases of missing children between 12-17 years old remain unusually high: “For some reason, in 2023, we’ve seen a lot more than we normally see which is troubling in part because we don’t know what’s going on with some of these kids.”
He continued saying there have been suspicions that they may be involved with drugs or gang activity or even possibly trafficked.
Sherice Snoden expressed her worry for her 15-year-old son Keshaun who has been missing for over forty days: “It’s been over forty days without my child… I miss my children everyday, I am worried, I don’t know if he is eating or sleeping. I just want him back home.”
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost stated that inconsistencies often happen throughout the process such as updating reports: “All of these things have localized reporting problems that again are a function of local conditions.”
He also added that it could be difficult to get an Amber Alert since police must have reasonable believe there was an abduction and the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death according to strict criteria set forth by law enforcement officers.
To help improve data collection and reporting systems The University of Toledo is currently working on a project set forth by Yost himself: “Law enforcement can’t be everywhere and can’t see everything… We rely on the people, the population because we have 11.7 million pairs of eyes out there that can keep an eye out.”
Hopefully this will help bring closure to all those families affected by these numbers increasing each day.
