There are serious concerns in northern Ohio about missing children. More than 1,000 minors have been reported missing in the Cleveland-Akron area so far this year. According to official figures, collected by Fox News, more than 45 children went missing in the month of September and in August at least 35 children disappeared.
In June, Newburgh Heights Police Chief John Majoy reported that this year there has been an “extraordinary” increase in missing children. Majoy even said that, in his more than 30-year career, he had never seen so many missing young people. The police cannot explain the reason for the problem.
Police Chief Wayne Drummond pointed out months ago that there were issues updating the data and stressed that this was not intended to minimize the concern behind the disappearance of the minors. He insisted on adding "context" and reported that of the 1,072 children missing up to that point, around 1,020 had already returned to their homes. “The vast majority of missing juveniles are runaways and sometimes habitual runaways.”
"I am afraid that the disappearances of children will go unnoticed"
Although the police have explained that these numbers may not be completely accurate, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost stated that the situation is worrying.
Yost said that the inconsistencies with these numbers could be affected by the high volume of work and the few people they have on staff. He is concerned that the state is not making this issue a top priority. He claimed that they are working on developing a more efficient data collection and reporting system to better manage the problem.
I am fearful of all kinds of things that fall through the cracks that include missing children. I rely on the tenacity of a worried parent more than I do a harried bureaucrat whose job it is to put data into a computer.
The police are not the only ones worried about the situation. People have been organizing search days to try and find missing children. Some even organize community meetings to give parents advice on this issue.
