It’s not every day that I awake to find police cars and news media in the neighborhood, fortunately. It was because there was an amber alert in our neighborhood, with a 15-year-old girl reported missing early this morning. While the news was at first certainly distressing (especially since I’m acquainted with the family), when I realized who was missing I was almost certain there was no abduction.
It started just after midnight this morning. According to the 911 tape which was released later today, the girl’s mother got texts that indicated her daughter was in mortal danger. The search by police began soon after (followed by the media stake-out). Police put up crime-scene tape around the home and blocked off the road in front of the house, steering the media away from the home.
After getting a few emails from my neighbors asking me what was going on (I’ve become the neighborhood’s go-to guy on crime information), I replied to the neighborhood email list stating that I wasn’t concerned about the incident and that I thought she had run away. What I meant to do with that was to put people’s minds at ease by saying it wasn’t random and there was no abduction. Instead, some read it as me being cavalier about a missing child. This resulted in a mini flame-war until I finally figured out to back out and shut up (see? I’m learning. Slowly, but I’m learning).
So, why was I so confident there was no abduction? I recognized the girl as the one who I’ve seen recently walking past my house, hand-in-hand with her boyfriend as they skipped school. They were obviously in love, though I could see how this could be a point of friction with her family. Her boyfriend is an interesting character: very much the punk rocker type who wears his hair in a mullet and prefers to walk around shirtless. Let me say that he wouldn’t be the prototypical example of the kid you hope your daughter brings home, though I give the kid major points for individuality.
They are also a mixed-race couple, which sadly is still taboo with some families.
After watching these kids walking happily hand-in-hand, laughing and scheming as they walked through my neighborhood, I knew if she was anywhere then she was with him. And I did not believe for a minute that he would harm her.
So the police kept the media at bay for many hours, frustrating reporters and tying up several officers so they could just stand around. The girl was found safe as I predicted, and the police have no reason to believe any foul play was involved.
In the end, it was just two kids trying to grow up. I hope they can work things out.