Mystery as nearly 50 children go missing from Cleveland in September alone as over ONE THOUSAND have vanished so far this year in ‘alarming’ trend that’s left Ohio cops baffled

Nearly 50 children have gone missing in Cleveland in September alone, while more than 1,000 have disappeared so far this year, leaving police baffled.

More than 45 minors have gone missing in the Cleveland area since the beginning of the month, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s office.

So far this year, 1,072 children have been reported missing in Cleveland.

One of those missing children is fifteen-year-old Keshaun Williams, who disappeared on June 17 this year and was last seen at a house party but never returned.

An Amber Alert remains active to find Williams, but the family continues their efforts by canvassing local areas.

This weekend, his grandmother Mary Williams told News 5 Cleveland, “When it’s over and something unthinkable has happened, I know God is there.

‘God is with him and he is protected wherever he is. I know that.’

His mother, Sherice Snoden, had previously told the newspaper: ‘It’s been more than 40 days without my child. I just want him back home.

‘I miss my child every day, I worry, I don’t know if he is eating or sleeping. I just want him back home.”

John Majoy, president of Cleveland Missing and Newburgh Heights police chief, said News5 Cleveland: ‘There just aren’t enough police officers on the streets to do this as law enforcement.

‘The audience is our greatest asset. We can’t do this without the public.”

Other missing children include 14-year-old Gideon Hefner, who was last seen on September 12 in American Township, Ohio.

According to the missing persons report, he was wearing a dark-colored shirt, jeans, a black hat and a backpack at the time.

Camryn Nicole Golias, 17, was last seen in Akron, Ohio, in September 2023 but is still missing.

Similarly, 16-year-old Elijah Hill disappeared from Sandusky, Ohio, on September 20 and has not been seen since.

Meanwhile, Iyahna Graham, 17, disappeared from North Canton, Ohio on September 23. Police have also advised that if found, she should be approached with caution.

Days before Graham went missing, Teonnah Thompkins was last seen on September 17 in Cincinnati, Ohio, wearing a black shirt, black pants and white shoes.

Maurice Hamrick, 14, Honesty Howell, 16, Elijah Hill, 16, and Chloe Hadley, 17, all disappeared within five days of each other earlier this month.

A similar pattern began in May this year, with as many as 27 children reported missing in the area early this month.

Police chief Majoy said at the time that the number of missing children between the ages of 12 and 17 remained unusually high in the month of May.

He said: ‘For some reason we’ve seen a lot more in 2023 than we normally see, which is partly worrying because we don’t know what’s going on with some of these kids.

“Whether they’re being trafficked or involved in gang activity or drugs.”

Majoy emphasized that he has never seen such large numbers of missing children in his 33-year career.

While Majoy claimed that most of the cases are likely runaways and not kidnappings, he added that teenagers are naive when it comes to predators, which he said can be “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

And unfortunately, most missing children don’t make the news because there’s usually no Amber Alert, said Majoy, who described the cases as “silent crimes happening right under our noses.”

There are strict criteria for an Amber Alert: the police must be able to reasonably assume that an abduction is taking place and that the child is in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death.

Only in cities with similar population densities, such as Aurora, Colorado

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told News5 Cleveland that inconsistencies often occur throughout the process, such as updating reports.

He said: ‘What we know is that when we look behind the numbers, some of them represent repeat runaways and the local police have spoken about that.

‘All of these things raise local reporting issues that are again a function of local conditions.

“We do our best to encourage compliance and improve assistance to remove barriers, but ultimately we have to rely on our local partners over whom we have no control.

‘I’m afraid of all kinds of things falling through the cracks, including missing children. I trust the tenacity of a concerned parent more than a harried bureaucrat whose job is to feed data into a computer.”

According to Yost, the University of Toledo is now working to improve its data collection and reporting systems statewide.

He continued, “Law enforcement cannot be everywhere and cannot see everything. We rely on the people, the population, because we have 11.7 million pairs of eyes that can keep an eye on things.’

Last year, more than 15,000 children were reported missing in Ohio, four of whom were found dead.

8,525 cases of missing children involved a runaway where a child left their home without permission and stayed away overnight.

34 cases involved a kidnapping of a non-custodial parent, with only five of the children abducted by a stranger.

Police were able to find 96 percent of the children, but 615 were still missing in 2023.

In cities with similar population densities, such as Aurora, Colorado, the total number was lower, with only 4,594 cases of missing children in 2021.

Three of these were kidnappings, 4,471 were classified as non-suspicious and 56 as unknown.

Yost said at the time, “Fortunately, when a child goes missing, Ohio law enforcement responds and often reunites missing children quickly.

‘My heart lies with the parents whose child is not yet at home.’