Since late July, nearly a dozen children and teenagers have been missing in North Dakota.
The North Dakota Attorney General’s Office missing person’s registry shows that nine juveniles are still missing, with the longest absence dating back to July 28.
The Forum first reported that a dozen children had gone missing since late July, but some have been found or are no longer on the registry.
The two most recent children who went missing were reported on Sunday, August 17.
“That feels like a lot when you say it out loud,” Agent Steven Harstad of the state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation told The Forum, adding that the number was on the rise, which he called “concerning.”
However, Harstad believes the cases are unrelated.
However, he did tell the newspaper that the true number could be higher, noting that not all runaways are reported missing.
“A lot of times, a runaway is not even reported to law enforcement because they have come back in the past,” he told the newspaper. “But even if that child has run away 20 times, the 21st time might be the time they’ve gotten into a bad situation.”
According to the state registry, the most recent missing person was Alexa Taylor, 16, who was last seen on August 17.
