<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3H81Kz_0m0CuDH500" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3H81Kz_0m0CuDH500" width="1125" height="617" ><figcaption>Aug 18, 2022; Concord, NC, USA; Jaquan Holley-Grishamand his mother, Mozell Jones-Grisham hold a homemade poster inside Mozell’s room at the Embassy Suites in Concord, North Carolina.Mozell Jones-Grisham's son Domonique Holley-Grisham disappeared from his family home in Rochester, NY in February of 2009. The 16-year-old was home with his youngest brother and his mother’s best friend when he received a phone call. After picking up the phone Domonique walked out of his house never to be seen again.. Mandatory Credit: Michael Hensdill for USA TODAY ORG XMIT: USAT-497791 [Via MerlinFTP Drop] Michael Hensdill for USA TODAY </figcaption></figure><p> When people hear the term <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2023/03/02/missing-children-kids-police-attention-depends-on-age-location/11219534002/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> "runaway," </a> they often make judgments that a <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2022/08/26/racial-disparities-abound-efforts-find-missing-children/10331706002/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> missing child </a> is not in danger. That's not always true,&nbsp;according to Angeline Hartmann, media director at the <a href="https://www.missingkids.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> National Center for Missing &amp; Exploited Children. </a></p><p> “Was that child actually lured away? Is that child going to meet somebody and was meant to come back 10 minutes later?” she asked. “There are lots of things that happen when a child is supposedly under the term ‘runaway.’” </p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><p> The <a href="https://nn4youth.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> National Network for Youth </a> , which lobbies lawmakers to prevent and end youth homelessness, no longer refers to the children it serves as runaways,&nbsp;Executive Director Darla Bardine said. </p><p><strong> Missing: </strong><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2023/04/20/missing-children-deemed-runaways-less-help-from-police/11432039002/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> If your child runs&nbsp;away from home, police may not help. </a></p><p> “There’s just such a negative public perception around runaways, that they just don’t want to follow the rules, they just want to go party and drink, as opposed to leaving a family crisis or abuse,” she said. “It’s a little bit of both. … They’re going to make bad choices, but it doesn’t mean they’re a bad person.” </p><h2 class="presto-h2"> How many children go missing in the U.S. every year? </h2><p> In 2021, 335,000 reports of missing U.S. children were sent to the FBI, down from 365,000 the year before. About 90% of them were found.&nbsp;By some estimates, 100,000 more&nbsp;each year are never reported to the FBI because they are quickly located.&nbsp;Of those not found within six months, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2022/10/04/national-center-missing-kids-facebook-videos-racial-disparity/10392414002/?gps-source=SPLASHPAGE&amp;itm_medium=onsite&amp;itm_source=storytellingStudio&amp;itm_campaign=Missing-Landing-Page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> a disproportionate number are Black. </a></p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><h2 class="presto-h2"> Do runaways get Amber Alerts? </h2><p> Around the country, classification as a runaway often means officers put less effort into looking for a missing child, according to a USA TODAY review of more than 50 police procedural manuals. Under federal rules, runaways also are disqualified from <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2023/02/23/amber-alert-missing-children-usa-today-data-analysis-finds-kids-rarely-helped/11089397002/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Amber Alerts </a> –&nbsp;notifications to the media, on billboards and on cellphones that draw urgent and widespread attention to missing children. </p><h2 class="presto-h2"> How long do police look for runaways? </h2><p> Of the 55 law enforcement agencies whose policy manuals were reviewed by USA TODAY,&nbsp;more than 40%&nbsp;allow police to exert less effort to find runaways than other missing kids. </p><p> Nashville police, for example, must search for missing children for at least three hours, according to the department manual. The document lists&nbsp;an exception for runaways who are not disabled or believed to be endangered:&nbsp;“In those incidents where it can be reasonably determined that a missing juvenile, age twelve or above, has left voluntarily … a search can be terminated prior to the three hours.” </p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><h2 class="presto-h2"> Is running away from home illegal? </h2><p> In at least 10 jurisdictions, running away is considered a low-level crime –&nbsp;known as a status offense –&nbsp;that can be listed on a juvenile’s record, like truancy or a curfew violation, according to USA TODAY’s review of 55 police policy manuals. </p><p> Of the departments reviewed by USA TODAY, Honolulu stands out: It requires all runaways to be arrested when they are found. Michelle Yu, a spokesperson for the&nbsp;Honolulu Police Department, said the agency’s arrest policy is&nbsp;intended to bridge a gap in services. </p><p> Several other agencies require the arrest of runaways found in a different jurisdiction from the one where they were reported missing, as a way to keep track of them while authorities gather information. Two agencies, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Cobb County Police Department in Georgia, let officers decide whether to make an arrest. </p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><h2 class="presto-h2"> Does 'missing white woman syndrome' apply to runaways? </h2><p><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2023/04/20/missing-children-deemed-runaways-less-help-from-police/11432039002/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Domonique Holley-Grisham </a> , 16 and Black, left his home in Rochester, N.Y., in 2009. Police did not issue a news release about his disappearance, and the first news stories about him were published by local media three years later. </p><p><a href="https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2022/05/18/brittanee-drexel-case-after-raymond-moodys-arrest-questions-remain/9804796002/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Brittanee Drexel, </a> who was also from the Rochester area,&nbsp;disappeared within a few months of Domonique. Forty-eight hours after she was last seen on a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., her story was shared on CNN, where host Nancy Grace described her as "a 17-year-old high school beauty, a model student, soccer player." </p><p> Domonique has never been found. Brittanee's remains were found in May 2022. The man who killed her, Raymond Moody, pleaded guilty to criminal sexual assault and kidnapping and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. </p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><p><i> Contributing: Madison Scott </i></p><p><i> Contact Gina Barton&nbsp;at (262) 757-8640&nbsp;or <a href="mailto:gbarton@gannett.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> gbarton@gannett.com </a> . Follow&nbsp;her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/writerbarton" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> @writerbarton </a> . </i></p><p><em> This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2023/04/22/teens-who-run-away-home-force-tough-questions-parents-police/11655962002/" rel="nofollow"> Did your teenager run away from home? Police might not help. </a></em></p></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

It's not all drinking and partying. Runaway teenagers can face dangers of abuse and assault.