Runaways are always endangered

December 8, 2008

One of the most disturbing stories have come out of California is recent days; the escape of a 17 year old child, that was starved, beaten, and chained.  Wearing only boxer shorts, he escaped his captors, finding safety in a nearby gym.

Three have been arrested, one, a family member that was on the lam for pleading ‘no contest’ to earlier abuse charges.  The other two, parents of four young children, the mother, a Daisy Girl Scout Leader.

While the allegations in this case are so vile, it is not the current crime that bothers me the most about this story, it is the fact that this teenager while in the custody of Child Protective Services has been missing from the group home, he was assigned, for over a year.

We often hear and see on the news missing persons, those who have the ‘right’ look, the ‘right’ family connections, or the ‘right’ amount of financial resources to flood the media with the missing person’s image; but what happens far too many times, those that don’t fit those social profiles slip through the cracks, worse, more often than not, teenagers, especially those that are ‘troubled’ tend to be ignored or very limited effort is put forth to make any attempt to locate them.

In this particular case a missing person’s report was filed with local police when the boy ran away from the group home, but as mentioned in the article linked below…well the police in Sacramento have seen their fair share of runaways, about five reported daily, as a result he was never located…….Until, he escaped.

http://cbs5.com/crime/chained.teen.brother.2.882279.html

It is estimated that about one million teenagers runaway every year, the majority of these runaways are female, and while police willingly admit that these runaways are most likely to become victims of violent crimes, little to nothing is done by most law enforcement agencies to bring these children home.

Another social problem with missing teenagers, it is nearly automatic that they are believed to be runaways, regardless of their family dynamic, grades, character, or circumstances surrounding their disappearance, unless it is witnessed that they are taken against their will, they are pigeon holed and again basically ignored by law enforcement.

This in not meant to be a law enforcement bashing blog, in most cities across the country our public service offices are over worked, under staffed, and sorely under funded; perhaps some become jaded, though I am sure the vast majority are simply over whelmed.

It does however, beg the question, if law enforcement cannot follow up on every runaway that they file a report on, why don’t they then, immediately turn their information to the many groups that do have the resources, and the expertise to perhaps expedite the search for these missing teens.  Why are the pictures of these missing children not send to several different groups that search for the missing?  Why is it not policy to send these pictures to area schools, churches, youth centers, or malls?  The police cannot be everywhere, but fliers can be everywhere, the internet is everywhere..but it is rare that unless a family member, or concerned friend contacts alternative sources, they will never get the information.

The case that began this blog should be a stark reminder to all of us, that a runaway is endangered the minute they leave their home, though the police in Sacramento either due to indifference, or lack of man power, put this case along with so many others, the reality is that this ‘runaway’ a victim of domestic violence, became a victim again not only by those that held him captive, but by the very system that is designed to serve and protect all its citizens–not just the ones that are considered ‘attractive’ or come from a family with enough clout to keep their images out in the public.

Written by Tracian · Filed Under Uncategorized 

Comments

3 Responses to “Runaways are always endangered”

  1. PJ on December 9th, 2008 3:43 pm

    Thank you Tracian for a great article and for bringing this to the attention of others. It should open a lot of eyes.

  2. Landon Sparks on January 8th, 2009 10:26 pm

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  3. Kurt Rodgers on January 10th, 2009 11:28 am

    hi
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    good luck

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