Nearly 50 children have been reported “missing” in Cleveland this month alone, sparking concerns they’re being trafficked or are involved in gang activity and drugs.
Meanwhile, over 1,000 children have been reported “missing” in and around Cleveland total this year alone, as confirmed by Fox News.
“According to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office’s missing children website, a total of 1,072 children have been reported missing so far in 2023 from the Cleveland-Akron area. That includes more than 45 children reported missing from the Cleveland-Akron area in September so far,” the outlet reported Tuesday.
Local officials worry that the kids may be falling into trafficking or gang activity.
“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 — whether they’re being trafficked, or whether they’re involved in gang activity or drugs,” Newburgh Heights Police Chief John Majoy told Fox News in June.
Making matters worse, the police lack the resources to thoroughly investigate every case.
“There’s just not enough police officers in the streets to do this as law enforcement,” Major previously explained to local media.
It doesn’t help that he’s never seen this many children missing at once.
“In 2022, Ohio had nearly double the number of runaways than states like Georgia, North Carolina and Illinois, all of which have populations of between 10million and 12million,” according to the Daily Mail.
There’s 14-year-old Gideon Hefner, who was reportedly last spotted in American Township on Sept. 12th. Then there’s Camryn NicoleGolias, a 17-year-old last seen earlier this month in Akron. Then there’s 16-year-old Elijah Hill, who reportedly disappeared from Sandusky on Sept. 20th.
“Meanwhile, Iyahna Graham, 17, vanished from North Canton, Ohio, on September 23. Police have also advised that if located she should be approached with caution. Days prior to Graham going missing, Teonnah Thompkins was last seen in Cincinnati, Ohio, on September 17, wearing a black shirt, black pants and white shoes. Maurice Hamrick, 14, Honesty Howell, 16, Elijah Hill, 16, and Chloe Hadley, 17, all disappeared within five days of each other earlier this month also,” according to the Daily Mail.
This is unacceptable. What is going on in Ohio with 1000 missing children and why isn’t the FBI doing something?pic.twitter.com/zCHTpATDQw
— General™️ (@TheGeneral_0) September 28, 2023
The only potential good news is that officials suspect the majority of missing kids are just repeat runaways.
“Now, what we know is when we look behind the numbers, some of those represent repeated runaways and local police have talked about that,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost reportedly said.
“The vast majority that we encounter here in the city of Cleveland are runaways, and a large percentage of those numbers are habitual runaways,” Cleveland Police Chief Wayne Drummond added in a statement to local station WKYC.
He continued by noting that of the 1072 children reported missing this year, 1020 have already been safely returned. And at the current moment, only 65 are missing, and of the 65, only 14 are considered to be in any form of potential danger.
“It’s important that we set the record straight. What’s out there is inaccurate. It’s important that our citizens really check their sources, and make sure they are accurate,” Drummond said.
He also took a shot at outlets running what he called “sensationalized” headlines about the missing children.
“It’s extremely harmful. It’s mainly harmful for the families of missing individuals and sometimes it hurts our investigation. And I just want everyone to know that we care deeply about finding missing children and adults and bringing them safely to their loved ones,” he said.
Yet for the parents of the missing children, the sensationalized headlines are sometimes all they have going in their favor.
“It’s been over forty days without my child. I just want him back home. I miss my child everyday, I am worried, I don’t know if he is eating or sleeping. I just want him back home,” Sherice Snoden, whose 15-year-old son Keshuan is missing, reportedly said.
Keshuan’s grandmother, Mary Williams, reportedly said that she feels like his disappearance is being ignored.
“If it’s beyond that and something unthinkable has happened, I know that God is there. God is with him, and he’s protected, and wherever he is, God is. I know that,” she said.
Breana Brown, the founder of JUMP (Join Us in Minors’ Protection) believes more could indeed be done.
“As a community, I feel like we need to do more. We need to make it a priority. If we make more things like this a priority, we will be more on top of it, such as updating the website so we can know who is missing. This is our community; we want to know what’s going on in our community and with our children especially,” she said.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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