There have been reports of a high number of teenagers going missing within the D.C. area.
According to The Washington Post, back in January, there were 211 missing people that were reported. Of those 211 people, 190 of them were found unharmed, but that still left 21 people missing, and 10 of them were teenage girls.
Within the past few days, more girls have reportedly been found unharmed. Police did not provide any details on how they went missing or how they were found.
Ironically patterns in the description of the girls reported missing have been noticed. They all fall within the 14-16-age range, weigh around the same weight and also have black hair and brown eyes.
Leaving people to wonder how and why are these teenage girls are going missing?
Sharece Crawford, a member of an Advisory Neighborhood Commission in Southeast Washington says she believes these teenage girls are getting involved with gangs or being forced into prostitution.
Crawford said, “What we need is a citywide alert about the dangers out here and how parents can protect their children. Residents are very worried. They are wondering if the city is taking this seriously. They say things like, ‘If white girls were disappearing uptown, there would be a state of emergency.’ ”
Chanel Dickerson recently became the commander of the D.C. police’s Youth and Family Services Division, and she talked about how shocked she was to hear about the number of missing children in the District.
“I am definitely soliciting assistance, especially for professional women to just show these young girls that there are positive female role models,” said Dickerson.
Dickerson also mentioned that police have not seen a connection between the missing girls and sex trafficking, but Tina Frundt, the founder of Courtney’s House, a District-based organization, said that “sex trafficking is a complex business and identifying victims can be difficult.”
Her organization helps to rescue teenage girls that have been forced into prostitution, and claim that four to five girls come to them each week seeking help.
Many influencers within the D.C. area have been encouraging parents to be more cautious when it comes to their children.
This is certainly a serious matter, and we are praying more of these young women will be found, and the number of missing teenagers continue to decrease.
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