Since the beginning of February, 35 Black and Latinx teens girls have gone missing in DC. Of those girls, 22 still have not been found.
The recent disappearances do not represent a spike in missing cases. According to the Director of the Youth and Family Services Division at the MPD, Chanel Dickerson, 200 missing persons have been reported on average every month for the past five years. This year, an average of 190 missing persons have been reported each month. From 2012 to 2016, 99 percent of all missing person cases have been closed. The cases gained public attention when the Metropolitan Police Department began posting photos of the girls using their Twitter page, as a part of an effort to raise public awareness and locate the girls. Before the public outcry, there had been few articles about the missing teens. This number was rapidly increasing as the issue gained national attention and The Beacon went to print. On March 24th, several congressional lawmakers wrote a letter to the FBI Director and US Attorney General and asked that they, “devote the resources necessary to determine whether these developments are an anomaly or whether they are indicative of an underlying trend that must be addressed.” Although DC residents pointed to the human trafficking problem in DC as a potential cause of the disappearances, in a press conference Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Interim Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department emphasized that there has been no evidence of a connection between the missing teens and human trafficking. No amber alerts were issued for any of the girls because amber alerts are only issued under five criteria, the first one being that there is “reasonable belief” an abduction has occurred.
The Beacon is currently working on a larger investigation into missing youth in DC. If you have any information on this subject, please contact beaconchiefeditor@gmail.com. Concerns, questions, or opinions are also welcome. For information surrounding the issue and a list of missing youth, please visit jrbeacon.com.
NAMES OF THE CURRENTLY MISSING GIRLS (18 years old and younger) as of 3/23/17:
Katherine Hunter, 17 years of age, last seen 3/21/17
Shaniah Boyd, 14 years of age, last seen 3/18/17
Chereah Payne, 17 years of age, last seen 3/17/17
Keyara Edwards, 15 years of age, last seen 3/17/17
Yashaiyah Enoch, 13 years of age, last seen 3/8/17
Aniya McNeil, 13 years of age, Last seen 3/8/17
Morgan Richardson, 16 years of age, last seen 3/6/17
Dayanna White, 15 years of age, last seen 3/3/17
Gladys Keitt, 18 years of age, last seen 3/2/17
Taliyah Thomas, 12 years of age, last seen 3/2/17
Esi Morgan Tyree, 16 years of age, last seen 2/28/17
Daveshia Heckaday, 14 years of age, last seen 2/22/17
Torri Marie Gibson, 11 years of age, last seen 2/18/17
Dashaan Wallace, 15 years of age, last seen 2/18/17
Torri Marie Gibson, 11 years of age, last seen 2/18/17
Miyonna Davis, 15 years of age, last seen 2/16/17
Shaquan Scott, 15 years of age, last seen 2/16/17
Demetria Carthens, 17 years of age. Last seen 2/7/17
Amanda Jones, 16 years of age, Last seen 2/8/17
Jenifer Martinez, 17 years of age, last seen 2/7/17
Seyauna Parker, 14 years of age, last seen 2/2/17
Heaven Shamte, 15 years of age, last seen 2/2/17
IMAGE COURTESY OF POPSUGAR.COM
