NORFOLK, Va. – According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s public database, there are roughly 500 children reported missing in Virginia. However, the News 3 team of investigators observed that law enforcement has not submitted a photograph for nearly 200 of those missing children.
“It is really important and helpful […] to have the image of the child so that we can share it with the community and nationwide if we need to,” said Lemmie Kahng-Sofer with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. “One of our most basic and most visible resources is our poster.”
According to federal guidelines, each missing child report, even if the child is missing because they ran away from home, should include a recent photograph of the child if available.
“I do know there have been times where law enforcement failed to ask,” said former Norfolk Police Chief and WTKR law enforcement analyst Larry Boone. “I’ve seen investigations in my time where the investigator might have not been as determined as he or she should because of the [child’s] history of chronically running away.”
While many of the children reported missing to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children ran away from home, Boone said it does not mean they are not in danger.
“Even if they chose to run away, this world being what it is, they can find themselves on the other side of a gang,” Boone said.
One in seven runaways become the victim of human trafficking, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“There are a lot of endangerments and risks of harm that they face out there,” said Kahng-Sofer. "We think that they are at risk."
When News 3 investigators analyzed the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s database in late September, we observed Norfolk with one of the highest number of open missing children’s cases in Virginia at nearly 70. Our review revealed roughly 50 of those cases had no photograph of the missing child submitted by the Norfolk Police Department.
Related: Breakdown of local city protocols to find missing children and AMBER Alert criteria
A Norfolk Police Department spokesperson said many of their open cases are runaways, and they have no indication the children missing in Norfolk, some as young as 11 years old, are in danger.
“That negative perception in society is, if you're labeling them as a runaway, whatever happens to him or her while they're out there, they brought it on themselves because they ran away,” said Derrica Wilson with the Black and Missing Foundation, who stressed the majority of open missing children cases are Black kids. “These are children, they are missing, and that is unacceptable.”
“That is part of the issue,” said Boone. “I can tell you from experience, you see an individual that is a chronic person that runs away, you don’t take it as seriously as you should.”
Boone said there is a three-pronged root to the lack of photographs obtained by law enforcement of missing children: a lack of empathy from some police offices, a lack of manpower in police departments, and a lack of cooperation from some parents.
“It doesn’t help the investigator when he [or she] goes and speaks with the parent, [and] they have a very nonchalant attitude as well,” Boone said.
Boone said a partnership between police, school districts, and community organizations like the NAACP and local churches can help address blind spots. In the meantime, Boone encourages parents to keep current images of their children in the event they go missing and to press police to actively investigate their child’s disappearance.
Related: Investigation into racial disparities in missing persons news coverage
“Folks that are most vocal about an issue, they’ll get the attention, and they’ll get the resources that they deserve,” said Boone. “Regardless of [a child’s] past history, you should do a full court press to try to locate that person.”
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provides this guide to help parents and guardians if their children go missing. The Black and Missing Foundation also provides resources for families desperately trying to find their loved ones, too.
Click here to view Jessica Larche's conversation with former Norfolk Police Chief.
