Missing Black and Latin Teens In Washington D.C.

RapidEye

Mainstream media has been silent following the disappearance of over a dozen Black and Latinx teens in recent weeks. Here’s what we know about their cases.

Mariya Moseley Mar, 14, 2017

Within the last week, nearly a dozen teens of color have gone missing in the Washington D.C. area.

According to the D.C. Police Department, more than 10 Black and Latinx teens have been reported missing. Sadly, the only mention of their disappearance comes from a series of tweets including several messages from the police department’s Twitter account and a small number of online news sites, including The Root and Teen Vogue.

It takes 3.2 secs to retweet and help find these 8 BLACK GIRLS reported missing in Washington, D.C. during the past three days (2/2) pic.twitter.com/kaP15Bk4Kk
— Black Marvel Girl (@BlackMarvelGirl) March 13, 2017

Since the 3rd of March 8 Black girls have been reported missing in D.C.. Jacqueline Lassey, missing from the 1200 block of Morse Street NE. Last seen Friday, March 10, 2017 around 8:00pm. . . Taylor Innis, missing from the 4700 block of 5th Street NW. Last seen Friday, March 10, 2017 around 10:30pm. . . Yashaiyah Enoch, missing from the 5000 block of Kimi Grey Court SE. Last seen Wednesday, March 8, 2017 around 11:00pm. . . Dashann Trikia Wallace, missing from the 200 block of I Street SE. Last seen Wednesday, March 8, 2017 around 12:30pm. . . Dayanna White, missing from the 100 block of Ivanhoe Street SW. Last seen Monday March 3, 2017 around 8:00am. . . Talisha Coles, missing from the 1000 block of Maryland Avenue NE. Last seen Tuesday March 4, 2017 around 7:25am. . . Aniya McNeil, missing from the 1100 block of New Jersey Avenue NW around 9:27am. . . Morgan Richardson, missing from the 1900 block of Massachusetts Avenue SE. Last seen Thursday March 6, 2017 around 8:00am. . . If you see/hear or know anything contact Youth & Family Services division at 202-576-6768 or the command center at 202-727-9099. #HelpUsFindUs #BringBackOurGirls

A post shared by Naji R.Copeland Sr. (@najicopeland) on Mar 14, 2017 at 6:29am PDT

Critical Missing: Yahshaiyah Enoch, 13 years old, last seen 3/8/17 in the 5000 blk of Kimi Gray Court, SE. Seen her? Call 202-727-9099. pic.twitter.com/9O7BomREiC
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) March 10, 2017

Amongst the teens missing, it’s been reported that 13-year-old Taylor Innis has been found in “good health.” Missing teen Antwan Jordan has been found safe.

As Teen Vogue pointed out in a recent article about the disappearances, there’s often comparison of the amount of attention that young people of color receive versus young, attractive white women.

The phenomenon entitled “missing white woman syndrome,” is a term referring to the media’s fascination with missing women who are white, young, pretty, and often from middle-or upper-class backgrounds. This theory is attributed to the late PBS reporter, Gwen Ifill who speculated that the media has an apparent lack of regard for missing people of color.

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Fox5 DC reported earlier this year that there’s been a renewed spotlight on the number of missing young girls in the D.C. area. In February alone, there were 15 active cases at one time, drawing concerns that there may be a larger issue of sex trafficking at hand. According to The U.S. Department of Justice, human trafficking has become the second-fastest growing criminal industry in the U.S., with children accounting for roughly half of all victims.

To report any information on the missing teenagers, call the Washington, D.C., Police Department at (202) 727-9099.

This is a developing story.