Lawmakers Asks Justice Department, FBI For Help After More Than 500 D.C. Children Go Missing

By Liberty McArtor Published on March 24, 2017

Over 500 children have gone missing in Washington, D.C. so far this year, The Associated Press reported. Those numbers come from the capital’s Metropolitan Police Department. The department said 22 of the cases were still unsolved as of March 22.

Many of the children missing are black or Latino. This led Congressional Black Caucus chairman Cedric Richmond and D.C. representative Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton to write the Justice Department and the FBI seeking help. The letter asks authorities to help determine whether the cases are “an anomaly or … an underlying trend.”

The number of D.C. missing persons has actually decreased, D.C. police claim. Since cases are being shared on social media more often, it seems like there are more, they said.

Richmond and Norton’s letter noted that 10 children of color went missing in D.C. in two weeks. The fact that they garnered little media attention at first was “disturbing.” Twitter users allege that missing children of color don’t illicit as much concern.

As of Friday morning, the topic is trending on Twitter. Media reports from USA Today, NBC, Fox News, and multiple others are also covering the story. Black Caucus members met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday. The president promised to make cabinet secretaries available to them to discuss issues. It is not clear whether the meeting included discussions of the missing children.

Derrica Wilson co-founded the Black and Missing Foundation. She told the AP she wonders if human trafficking played a part in the recent disappearances. Many on Twitter share the same fear. Some are even postulating ties to the #Pizzagate controversy of the 2016 election.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said no connections to sex trafficking exist, USA Today reported

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