Latest news with #AmberAlert
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ohio report highlights missing children statistics for 2024, unsolved disappearances
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohio officials recently released a report that details statistics about children who went missing in 2024 and highlights unsolved disappearances from years past. The Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse, a repository run by the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation since 1993, releases an annual missing children's report. The initiative stems from a coordinated effort between local law enforcement agencies and the National Crime Information Center. Each American state has a missing children clearinghouse that collects and disseminates information. The report covering 2024 revealed 21,342 people were reported missing in Ohio, a number that decreased by 1,032 compared with 2023. The downward trend remained true for missing children, who made up 16,404 of total missing people, which is 1,001 fewer than the previous year. Of the missing children, 96.5%, or 15,834, were recovered safely before the end of the year while three were found dead, the report states. 'Every missing person is someone to somebody – a child, sibling, loved one or friend,' Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement. 'I am proud of the dedication shown by Ohio law enforcement to keep Ohio's children safe and commit that my office will continue to do everything in its power to support that mission.' The report found 8,758 of the missing children were girls and 7,646 were boys. Minors between the ages of 13 and 18 made up 14,681 of the missing children, with those aged 6 to 12 representing 1,556 cases and kids between 0 and 5 making up 167 cases. Franklin County saw the highest number of missing children, at 2,792. Montgomery followed close behind at 2,760, then Cuyahoga at 2,717. Franklin and Cuyahoga are the most populated counties in the state, while Montgomery has the fifth-highest population. Where in Columbus you're most likely to get pulled over for speeding In missing children cases where the circumstances were specified, 8,415 were classified as runaways, 37 were abducted by a noncustodial parent and nine were abducted by a stranger. Last year, Ohio issued 13 Amber Alerts involving 15 children. Fourteen of the kids were recovered safely and one was found dead. The state also sent out 17 endangered missing children alerts involving 18 individuals, 17 of which were safely recovered while one was found dead. Endangered missing children alerts are issued for disappearances where police cannot determine whether the child was abducted, but the circumstances otherwise meet Amber Alert criteria. Data from the clearinghouse report is taken from missing child reports from law enforcement, which is entered into the National Crime Information Center database. Once a child is found, the report is closed and the case is updated in the database. The report put a spotlight on the case of Ashley Summers, who disappeared at 14 years old on July 9, 2007. She was last seen in the vicinity of a relative's house on West 44th Street in Cleveland, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Summers has a tattoo of the name 'Gene' surrounded by a heart on her right arm. Today, she would be 31 years old. Also included in the report is Neveah Holton, who went missing at 2 years old. While she was last seen at a doctor's appointment on Nov. 13, 2012, she was first reported missing by a social worker six years later. Holton has a distinctive white patch of hair as she was diagnosed with Waardenburg Syndrome, a genetic condition that affects pigmentation. Today, she would be 15 years old. Nylo Lattimore went missing at 3 years old on Dec. 4, 2020. The child's stroller was found near the Ohio river in Cincinnati, where his mother's body was discovered. Desean Brown has been accused of killing the pair and is set to go on trial this year. Police believe Lattimore was thrown into the river, but he has never been found. Today, he would be 7 years old. The final disappearance included in the report is that of Jamel Williams, who went missing at 3 years old on May 25, 1994. His mother reported him missing, claiming she last saw him on the rear steps of her apartment in the east side of Toledo. Police stated neighbors reported that they never had seen the child at the apartment since his mother began living there in April 1994. Today, Williams would be 34 years old. Anyone who has information about an unsolved disappearance included in the report should contact the police department for the city where the individual went missing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Texas man pleads guilty to kidnapping child in Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A Texas man pleaded guilty Thursday to kidnapping a 3-year-old girl in 2021, according to U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona. Steven Holguin, 42, of El Paso, TX, pleaded guilty on conspiracy to commit kidnapping charges. A Birmingham police officer responded to a call regarding the kidnapping of a child on Nov. 4, 2021, according to the plea agreement. Family members said they believed that the child's uncle, Elis Salgado-Galindo, planned to take her to Mexico, where her father lives, or Honduras, where her father's family is located. 3-year-old girl found safe in Mississippi after being kidnapped from Ensley, 2 men charged After taking the child and leaving, an Amber Alert was issued along the Alabama/Mississippi State line. Rankin County and Mississippi Sheriff's Department issued a traffic stop on a vehicle that matched the description of Holguin's vehicle. Holguin, who was the driver, was instructed to exit the vehicle, and the other individuals along with the toddler were removed. Both men were taken into custody. Holguin was convicted in 2020 for conspiracy to transport aliens. He was sentenced to six months in federal prison and three years of supervised release. Salgado-Galindo, a citizen of Mexico, was turned over to ICE custody. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Three arrested on suspicion of Oakland toddler's kidnapping
Oakland police arrested the parents and a grandmother of a 2-year-old girl on suspicion of her kidnapping last week. Police said that Andrew Coleman and Tamira Claggion, the toddler's parents, were arrested about 12 hours after the abduction, along with Chalita West, the child's maternal grandmother. Oakland police said the three relatives violently attacked the child's other grandmother, who is her guardian, and abducted the 2-year-old on May 20 from near 39th and Adeline streets in Oakland. An Amber Alert was issued for three Bay Area counties that evening as authorities searched for the child and her alleged abductors. The kidnappers used a gun and a knife in the attack, Oakland Police Lt. Marcos Campos said in a press conference on May 21. The child's guardian was left with moderate injuries, including bruising to her body and face. The child was found safe just after midnight on May 21, Campos said. The 2-year-old has been reunited with her guardian, police said. Campos said that the grandmother who was attacked was the sole legal guardian of the child, but there was a scheduled court hearing weeks away amid ongoing custody dispute, and custody disagreements appear to have played a role in the kidnapping. Campos said police found the child 'through members of the community giving us information,' which he said was helped by the Amber Alert, and Oakland Police Department technology. Coleman, 25, and Claggion, 23, were arrested and booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on suspicion of kidnapping, assault, unlawful child detention, residential burglary and aggravating factors, according to jail records. West, 49, was arrested on suspicion of the same charges, as well as giving false information to a police officer and grand theft, according to jail records.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
U.S. Coast Guard launches ‘Aqua Alerts' in Long Island Sound area
LONG ISLAND SOUND (WTNH) — Starting Tuesday, people may start receiving 'Aqua Alerts' to their phone if they're nearby a maritime emergency. According to the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, the alerts will come similar to an Amber Alert. Boating safety tips this Memorial Day weekend They'll include details like the description of a missing person or vessel and their last known locations. If you get the alert, you're asked to be vigilant, attempt a rescue if trained and equipped, and/or call in to 866-299-8031 with helpful information. The alerts are a pilot program aimed at delivering immediate notification to people nearby, to help speed up and expand search and rescue efforts. It's currently limited to Long Island Sound and the south shore of Long Island. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
5 days ago
- CBC
'I went about it all the wrong way,' says N.B. man convicted of child abduction in N.L.
Wilbur Crockwell insists he only meant to help his 14-year-old former stepdaughter leave a troubled life behind in 2023, when he aided her in fleeing a group home in Newfoundland and attempted to move her to New Brunswick with him. Now, after sparking an Amber Alert and pleading guilty to child abduction, he says he sees the error of his ways. "I didn't realize the impact my actions would create and I realize I went about it all the wrong way," he said in court at a sentencing hearing on Monday in St. John's. Crown prosecutor Kellie Cullihall is asking the judge for a 12-month prison sentence, while defence lawyer Robert Hoskins countered with a request for house arrest ranging between 8-14 months. Crockwell's case put the public on high alert two years ago, prompting a rare Amber Alert in Newfoundland and Labrador. The girl was first reported missing on June 2, 2023, when she failed to report back to her group home in St. John's. Police and social workers immediately suspected Crockwell — her mother's former boyfriend — was involved in the girl's disappearance, according to evidence presented at a bail hearing after his arrest. The 14-year-old was picked up at a nearby mall by two friends of Crockwell, and driven to a remote cabin in central Newfoundland — about four hours from the capital city. They drove her there to wait for Crockwell, who left New Brunswick to come pick her up. He was arrested halfway across the island, and police went to retrieve the girl from the cabin. When given a chance to speak on Monday, Crockwell sobbed as he told of how he met the girl's mother at church in New Brunswick and they moved in together soon after. He said he formed a close father-daughter relationship with the girl. Social workers had concerns about the relationship between them, however, at one point implementing a safety plan to ensure Crockwell was out of the home, according to evidence presented at his bail hearing. Despite this, Crockwell says the girl contacted him three months before the incident and told him she needed help leaving Newfoundland. "It broke my heart because she didn't belong there, and I didn't want her to have the life that I had in the system," said Crockwell, alluding to his upbringing in numerous foster homes. "I wanted to protect her from hitch-hiking across three provinces to get to me, so I arranged for her to get a ride out to central where I would meet her a week later." Both of the adults who brought the girl to central Newfoundland — Erin Bast and Cyril Boone — were also charged with child abduction. Boone's charges were dismissed, while Bast pleaded guilty last year. The Crown and defence submitted a joint submission for Bast, seeking eight months of house arrest in her case. Judge Jacqueline Brazil questioned how the culpability of Crockwell and Bast was any different, to which the Crown replied Crockwell was like the robber, while Bast was the getaway driver. Brazil said she's heard many prosecutors argue the driver is just as culpable, and indicated she has leeway to break from the joint submission. "If you believe the sentence is unfit, you can absolutely rule something different," said Cullihall. Brazil will release her decision for Crockwell and Bast on Aug. 13. Girl says she just wanted to escape group home In a victim impact statement, the 14-year-old girl says she feels awful for her role in the whole ordeal. "The biggest emotional impact I feel is guilt," she said. "The guilt of having all of this happen. I feel somewhat to blame myself for all of this." She says her biological father had died, and she just wanted to get back to her home province of New Brunswick. "Before all this happened, I wanted more than anything to get out of the group home and off the island because I felt trapped and alone with no way to ever get out. I lost everything," she said. She said she was going to leave "one way or another," with or without Crockwell's help. After a week at the cabin with Boone and Bast, the girl said she realized how "irresponsible" her plan had been. She referred to Crockwell as her stepdad, and said she feels bad for getting him in trouble. Crockwell is also charged with making, possessing and accessing child pornography. That case will be called for a status report at provincial court in St. John's on Friday.
