National Missing Children’s Day: Find Missing Georgia Kids

ATLANTA, GA — Every 40 seconds, the time it takes to heat up a slice of pizza in the microwave, a child is reported missing somewhere in America. Some are runaways, but others are abducted. Most have come home alive, due in part to efforts like those taking place Friday, May 25, on National Missing Children’s Day to reunite kids and their families. In Georgia, at least 171 children have been reported as missing since 1994.

That’s according to a database kept by the Polly Klaas Foundation that includes the names of more than 9,800 children reported missing from 1994-2017. The foundation is named for the California 12-year-old who was stolen from her home on Oct. 1, 1993, by a knife-wielding intruder who interrupted a children’s slumber party and carried her away. Her body was found nine weeks later, on Dec. 3, 1993.

The actual number of kids who are reported missing every year is hard to calculate, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, established in 1984 to provide a coordinated national approach to find missing kids. Because some children are never reported missing and others, like repeat runaways, are entered in the FBI National Crime Information Center each time they run away, there’s no way to reliably know how many children are missing.

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Since its founding nearly 35 years ago, the NCMEC has assisted in the recovery of more than 260,000 children. But some have never been found. Still missing in Georgia, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, are these children:

Photo via National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Reyna Alvarado-Carrera, 26. Reyna's photo is shown age-progressed to 19 years. She was last seen on May 6, 2005, at her home in Norcross, Georgia. She was allegedly abducted by Jose Carols Gatica Luna. A felony warrant for Custodial Interference was issued for Jose Carlos on May 9, 2005. They may still be in the local area, or they may have traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, Los Angeles, California or Mexico. Reyna's nickname is Gaby. She was born Jan. 6, 1992. She is described as Hispanic with black hair and brown eyes. She's 5'4" tall and weighs 110 pounds.

Photo via National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Jedi Abrahamian, 14, has been missing since Feb. 9, 2018, from Morrow. His birthdate is April 14, 2004. He's described as white, with black hair and brown eyes. He's 5' 4" tall and weighs 147 pounds. He may be in the company of an adult male. They may still be in the local area or they may travel out of state. Jedi may go by the alias first name Vaughn.

Photo via National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Imanol Aguirre, 16, was last seen on May 6, 2017. He has been missing since May 6, 2017 and is from Lawrenceville. He was born Nov. 7, 2001 and is now 16. He is described as Hispanic with black hair and brown eyes. He's 5'7" tall and weighs 155 pounds.

Photo via National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Morgan Bauer, 22, has a tattoo on the back of her neck, right arm, left inner arm, and right shoulder. She has been missing since Feb. 12, 2016, from Atlanta. She was born April 13, 1996. She is described as being white with brown hair and blue eyes. She's 5'6" tall and weighs 130 pounds.

Photo via National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Macon Bedford, 17, She was last seen on April 7, 2018. Macon has a tattoo of a heart on her right hand. She has been missing since April 7, 2018, from Woodstock. She was born March 22, 2001. She is described as white with brown hair and green eyes. She's 5'5" tall and weighs 150 pounds.

Photo via National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Vincentia Bland, 15, may still be in the local area or she may travel to Ohio. When Vicentia was last seen, she had twists in her hair. She may go by her middle name Elise. She has been missing since May 11, 2018, from Marietta. She was born May 23, 2003. She is described as black with brown hair and brown eyes. She is 5'3" tall and weighs 117 pounds.

The nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was established by parents like John and Revé Walsh, whose 6-year-old son, Adam, was abducted from a Florida shopping mall in 1981 and later found murdered.

Before the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children existed, police could enter information about stolen cars, guns and other items on the FBI’s crime database, but not stolen children. The Adam Walsh disappearance was among several tragic cases that illuminated the need for a nationwide, coordinated system to address the problem of missing children.

Others included Etan Patz, a 6-year-old who vanished from a New York street on the way to school in 1979. Over the next several years, 29 children and young adults reported as missing were found murdered in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1982, West Des Moines, Iowa, paperboy Johnny Gosch, 12, never came home from his paper route. His disappearance remains unsolved.

SEE ALSO: Patch Contest: Share Your Best Photos From Around Georgia

Former President Ronald Reagan was an honored guest when the NCMEC opened its doors in 1984. A year earlier, he had proclaimed every May 25 as National Missing Children’s Day.

Since then, the Department of Justice has annually commemorated National Missing Children’s Day with a ceremony honoring heroic and exemplary efforts of agencies, organizations and individuals to protect children, and to coordinate efforts to reunite missing children with their families.

The problem of missing children is particularly acute in California, which accounts for nearly half of the missing children cases documented on the Polly Klaas Foundation website. The states with the most missing children reports since 1994 are:

California: 4,541
Texas: 489
Florida: 364
Arizona: 246
New York: 223
Washington: 218
Ohio: 209
Colorado: 183
Illinois: 177
Georgia: 171
Oregon: 153
Pennsylvania: 153
Nevada: 150
Michigan: 130
Indiana: 124

Photo by Lightspring / Shutterstock