Sheriff deputies in South Carolina are searching for a 16-year-old girl who went missing earlier in February.
Adonelle Childs was last seen about two weeks ago, Kershaw County deputies told WLTX. Investigators said she has a history of running away but is typically only gone for a day or two, so this instance has triggered a search.
A nationwide amber alert has not been sent out as of yet.
IT ONLY TAKES TWO SECONDS TO SHARE: South Carolina police are searching for 16-year-old Adonelle Childs. The teen was last seen two weeks ago. https://t.co/OFFhWhLSwt
— WDBJ7 (@WDBJ7) February 27, 2019
Adonelle is described as a white female with long brown hair standing 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighing 110 pounds.
No other information was shared by the sheriff’s office.
Anyone with information was asked to call the office at 803-425-1512.
Police Give Update on Missing Teen
Investigators said a teenage girl missing from Florida for more than a year could be in Colorado.
Aurora Police shared pictures of 16-year-old Natalie Wilson on Monday, Feb. 25, adding, “It is believed Natalie may be in the Denver area. If you see her please call 911.”
She was reported missing on Feb. 17, 2018, from the Tampa, Florida area, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
When she went missing she was described as white, about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. She weighed about 120 pounds at the time of her disappearance.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office also noted that when she was last seen, the teen’s hair was “dyed multiple colors.”
#MISSING It is believed Natalie may be in the Denver area. If you see her please call 911. https://t.co/MuCGtefTvS
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) February 26, 2019
Missing Children
There were 464,324 missing children reported in the FBI’s National Crime Information Center in 2017, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Under federal law, when children are reported missing to law enforcement they must be entered into the database. In 2016, there were 465,676 entries.
“This number represents reports of missing children. That means if a child runs away multiple times in a year, each instance would be entered into NCIC separately and counted in the yearly total. Likewise, if an entry is withdrawn and amended or updated, that would also be reflected in the total,” the center noted.
In 2017, the center said it assisted officers and families with the cases of more than 27,000 missing children. In those cases, 91 percent were endangered runaways, and 5 percent were family abductions.
About one in seven children reported missing to the center in 2017 were likely victims of child sex trafficking. Nancy McBride, the executive director of Florida Outreach at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said that most of the runaways involve technology.
“(Technology) has great benefits and some potential risks,” McBride told USA Today in 2017. “It’s important to stay plugged into their lives.” Tech is utilized by online predators, McBride said, who exploit gaps when the child’s relationship with their parents isn’t strong.
Epoch Times reporter Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
