A viral social media post stating there have been 63 Black children reported missing in Virginia since April 1 underscores a serious issue in Black and brown communities when young people are reported missing.
"Since April 1, 63 Black children in Virginia had reportedly been listed with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children," the post, which appears on the @realblackgirlpolitics Instagram page, reads. "During that time, 175 Black children were reportedly listed missing across the entire United States. That would mean Virginia alone accounts for more than a third of the missing Black children in this country."
As of Thursday, May 21, the NCMEC figure for for open missing cases involving Black children sits at 64, with the total number of open missing children cases in Virginia at 114 — meaning that more than half of open missing children cases in the commonwealth are Black, despite Black Virginians accounting for about one-fifth of the population. The total number of Black children law enforcement reported missing since April 1 across the U.S. is now 183, according to NCEMC.
Numerous community members have reached out to News 3 to share this post and their concerns about why it hasn't been more widely reported.
So, anchor Jessica Larché, who has reported extensively over several years on the disparities in reporting and concern over missing Black and brown children, reached out to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Black and Missing Foundation to learn more.
The BMFI sent this response:
"While we cannot verify the specific statistics cited in this viral post, the overwhelming public response underscores a painful and undeniable reality: children of color are disappearing at an alarming rate. Many times, these children are classified as runaways, which immediately delays crucial media coverage, law enforcement resources, and stymies public awareness. It takes a collective, coordinated effort from the media, law enforcement, and the community to bring our children home. Our focus remains entirely on correcting these disparities and ensuring every missing person receives the urgency and support they deserve."
For verification reasons, News 3 and other outlets typically wait for an official police report from a local authority or Virginia State Police before we will share the photo and information about a missing person. This is to ensure the accuracy of the information we publish.
Last summer, viral TikToks circulated on social media claiming that a disproportionately high number of children were reported missing in Virginia with claims of "mass abductions."
Watch previous coverage: VSP refutes mass abduction claims made in viral TikToks
Those claims were unfounded, we learned, after talking with Virginia State Police.
VSP told us that reported missing children tend to peak in the summer months when school is out, but with an important caveat: Virginia's guidelines for posting missing children cases is more broad than in other states. This helps explain why, out of the total 451 missing children reported on the NCEMC website across the U.S. since April 1, 114 — or 25 percent — of them are in Virginia.
Anecdotally, police say many children reported missing are runaways, and most return shortly after being reported missing.
However, as the BMFI and NCMEC stress, it is still important to deploy resources to find children who are missing because they ran away, as they still face increased dangers of human trafficking, gang recruitment, and other potential harms.
The concern over the disproportionately high numbers of Black children reported missing is a serious concern that News 3 will continue to investigate.
