CLEVELAND — “We’re praying for our children because someone else is preying on them, and we are sounding the alarm,” said Marvin McMickle.
On Tuesday, Cleveland faith leaders put Northeast Ohio on notice that the recent increase in children reported as missing is at the top of mind for them and their respective congregations.
“We have to join with all the entities that’s out there that’s concerned about our children to bring them back home, to bring them back to a safe environment, and all of these pastors are here to say listen, we’re here,” said Rev. Rodney Maiden.
Cleveland made headlines just weeks ago because of a spike in missing kids.
Cleveland Police confirmed there are currently 40 open missing person cases for people under 18.
John Majoy works with Cleveland Missing, an organization that equips families with resources if their loved one has disappeared.
“We’ve had several people come to us, we did have one last Thursday that came to us, and we were able to print a couple hundred flyers for the family and at six o’clock the next morning, I woke up to a text that the child had been found safely,” said Majoy.
Yes, the numbers are startling, but Majoy says it’s also important to add a bit of context to the issue.
“Right now, there’s no evidence of anything of mass abductions or any abductions, we’ve had no amber alerts, we’ve had no missing endangered alerts, so it’s safe to say a lot of these are runaways," said Majoy.
“We want to come together with the community not just have the children on a milk carton or a billboard or at the post office, but we know all the things that’s been luring our children through the internet, that why do our children feel they have to run away from home?" said Maiden.
One thing Majoy points to is the danger of social media. Adding, he’s a big supporter of Gov. DeWine's newly introduced Social Media Parental Notification Act.
RELATED: Gov. DeWine wants social media companies to verify parental consent of users under 16
“If parents keep an eye on their children’s social media, who they’re hanging out with and things like that,” said Majoy. “I think that’s one of the best things to do because the last thing we want to do is see any child become victimized and any child who runs away runs a risk of being victimized."
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