The number of missing and runaway children in Ohio for 2023 is nearly double that of states with similar populations, sparking panic among parents and police who in some towns can’t keep up with the number of teenagers running away.
In this month alone, 45 children have been reported missing in the Cleveland area.
They join the total number of 1,072 who have been reported missing since the start of the year.
While the majority have since returned home or been accounted for, cops say many are regular runaways who will likely vanish again.
They say the rate of children going missing and running away in 2023 is unusually high.
In 2022, Ohio had nearly double the number of runaways than states like Georgia, North Carolina and Illinois, all of which have populations of between 10million and 12million.