Over a thousand kids have gone missing so far this year in northern Ohio, a frightening number. Forty-five kids are missing in the Cleveland area just this month, per the Ohio attorney general’s missing children website. More than 35 cases of missing children were reported in August.
These disturbing disappearances of youngsters began in May, with 30 missing in the first two weeks.
On Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost voiced his alarm over the rising number; however, the reported number may be overestimated due to errors in updating reports. Also, the local police have discussed the possibility that some of these numbers are repeat runaways.
Yost said that because of a lack of police personnel in the state, data on cases of runaways, abductions, and sex trafficking can be inaccurate.
But Cleveland Missing president and Newburgh Heights police chief John Majoy has already voiced his alarm over the rising number of missing children.
2023 saw a far higher-than-average number of reported missing children. Majoy said it’s troubling that we don’t know more about the children’s backgrounds. It is unknown if they are victims of human trafficking, members of a gang, or involved in the drug trade.
Majoy said that in his 33 years of experience, they have never seen so many children go missing.
He said it is more likely that most incidents involve youngsters who ran away from home rather than being abducted. He cautioned, though, that youngsters may be blind to danger from those who, at first glance, appear harmless.
Yost said that to help find these missing children; the state is working with the University of Toledo to develop a more sophisticated statewide data-gathering reporting system.
He claimed that law enforcement is limited in monitoring all areas simultaneously.
Concerned parents, such as Breana Brown, who founded the group Join Us in Minors Protection (JUMP) to raise funds and awareness, have also begun their attempts to find the missing children.
