After strong national concern was sparked by statements made by an Ohio police chief about the alarming number of children reported missing in Cleveland, local authorities held a press conference to clear up the mystery.
Earlier this month, Newburgh Heights Police Chief John Majoy reported that there has been an "extraordinary" increase in missing minors this year. Majoy even expressed that he had never seen so many missing youths in his more than three decades of professional career.
However, the most disturbing part was that the police chief said the reason for the children's disappearance had not yet been determined. "We don't know what's going on with some of these children, whether they're being trafficked or whether they're involved in gang or drug activity," he said, noting that in the first two weeks of May alone, there were reports of 27 young people missing in the Cleveland area, most between the ages of 12 and 17.
Cleveland police tackle mystery
Majoy's statements were published in multiple media outlets due to concerns that the children were being trafficked, so Cleveland Police Chief Wayne Drummond decided to hold a press conference to clarify the "misinformation" on the subject.
Drummond reported that the number of missing youths is indeed high and indicated that 1,072 cases have been reported so far this year alone, representing a 20% increase over the previous year.
However, the Cleveland police chief clarified that "the vast majority of missing juveniles are runaways and sometimes habitual runaways."
Drummond stressed that he was not trying to minimize the concern behind the disappearance of children but insisted on the importance of "add[ing] context" and reported that of the 1,072 children missing this year, some 1,020 have already returned home.
The police officer took the opportunity to point out that every missing persons report in the city is taken seriously and said that this is precisely why the police department has detectives specifically assigned to address this issue in each of its five districts.
