To Gabby Petito When she went missing on an overland road trip with her boyfriend, a nationwide search for the 22-year-old woman began, which included national media coverage, corpse dogs, drones, helicopters, ATVs and more.
Petito’s body was found on the weekend in Wyoming and continues to look for her now missing boyfriend Brian Laundrie.
But many colored people across the country wonder why these types of resources weren’t available to them when their loved ones first went missing. Some of them still have no answers to their loved ones years later.
“They ask, ‘But why didn’t my loved ones case get the same kind of attention or resources?'” Said Derrica Wilson, co-founder of the Black and missing foundation, in terms of the families she works with.
There are at least seven missing persons cases Massachusetts listed on the foundation’s website, including 38-year-olds Jennifer Kabura Mbugua.
Mbugua, a black woman, went missing on May 28, 2014. Her vehicle was found at a gas station in North Attleboro with her keys and a shoe nearby, the website said.
In 2019 the Fall River reporter said the circumstances of her disappearance were “still a mystery”.
“Jennifer has always been so generous and selfless,” her mother said in a 2014 video. “Please let’s try to find Jennifer together.”
However, with Mbugua still missing, the world focuses on Petito.
The Black and Missing Foundation found that around 40% of missing persons cases are colored people. But that number could be even higher since the Hispanic community is classified as white in FBI statistics, Wilson said.
“There are a lot of Gabby Petitos in the Black and Brown community,” said Wilson.
Her foundation hopes the names of the missing colored people get the same attention as Natalee Holloway, Chandra Levy, Elizabeth Smart, Laci Peterson and Petito.
“You know all of these names,” said Wilson. “But if I asked you to name a black or tan person who is featured in the mainstream media, I’m pretty sure you couldn’t name one.”
The responsibility rests with law enforcement, lawmakers, the media, and the average person.
Wilson said police departments have sometimes pushed back families trying to report missing persons cases, and even when they do, sometimes those departments are very small.
“There are cases where we’ve reached out to law enforcement and there are only a handful of detectives assigned to this department, and many of them can work Monday through Friday,” she said. “People are missing around the clock. But when a family contacts that particular agency on a Friday night and they say, ‘Nobody can help you until Monday.’ No family wants to hear that. “
Children are sometimes mistakenly classified as outliers.
“We’ve had so many cases that were originally classified as outliers and the kids weren’t outliers,” said Wilson. “And in some of these cases the children were found dead. Some of the children were trafficked. “
There is also no Amber Alert or Flyer if a child is classified as an outlier.
In adults, colored people could be tagged or associated with criminal activity.
“We have had cases where families provided a picture of their missing loved one and the police decided to use a mug shot from that person’s past that had nothing to do with the fact that they were missing,” she said .
In one case, the Black and Missing Foundation was working with a family and found that police had used a mug shot of the missing person from an offense years ago.
“I asked, ‘Why didn’t you all give the picture you gave us to law enforcement, or did you?’ And they said, ‘No, we did that, but they decided to use that.’ “
Wilson said when a mug shot is used, people are less likely to share or interact with the missing person’s post.
“They dehumanize them without realizing that this is someone’s son, daughter, mother, father, aunt, brother, sister,” she said.
Sometimes this results in people of color having to create their own flyers or Facebook pages.
“If you go on social media, you will see these families making their own flyers. They tell their own stories because law enforcement agencies don’t create the flyers or don’t post them on their website, ”Wilson said. “The family is trying. You are desperate. “
Mbugua has one Facebook site and a hashtag on Twitter is dedicated to finding her.
On the Facebook page there are also pictures of groups of people who post flyers. The family also announced that they have hired a private investigator.
“We noticed that after searching for Jennifer Mbugua on Saturday in Fall River, false information was sent out suggesting that she was found,” said a 2014 Facebook post. “We want to let everyone know that Jennifer Mbugua is still missing. “
But trying to find loved ones on your own can be risky. Scams, Wilson said, are common because the family released their personal information.
“One family in particular was cheated of their savings and eventually lost their home,” said Wilson.
The family she worked with received a ransom call stating that the person on the phone knew where their daughter was, but they had to pay. So they did.
“They were just so desperate,” said Wilson. “And her daughter is still missing today. She has been missing since December 2011. “
The Black and Missing Foundation is also asking the news organization to share these missing person cases.
“We need the media to highlight these cases,” she said, sharing online and on social media. “Awareness is the key.”
Legislators can also make a difference by changing the way we handle missing persons cases.
“In certain states, you can only report your loved one as missing after 24 hours. In other states, you can report your loved ones, whether children or adults, right away, ”she said.
Massachusetts residents can sometimes be reported missed 24 hours ago due to age, medical concerns, or other required surveillance.
These changes can be made during the local elections, Wilson said.
“Vote for the people who will drive change in your respective jurisdictions,” she said.
People can also help families with missing loved ones by sharing flyers on social media.
“Don’t just like it, share it,” she said. “And that was a huge challenge. People will see it and they will comment and they will like it, but they don’t share it. “
Sometimes people don’t share it because the person is not from where they are. But it doesn’t matter, said Wilson.
As an example, she cited that people can travel between New York, Boston, and Washington DC in a matter of hours.
“If someone goes missing in DC at 12 noon, he can be in New York, he can be in Boston, he can be anywhere” [by 3 p.m.]”She said.” That’s why it’s so important to get the information out there. “
Wilson hopes the attention paid to the Petito case will inspire people to continue helping other missing persons cases.
But until the same resources are made available to the missing colored people, families will always wonder why.
“You are trying to understand what makes this case different from mine?” Said Wilson.
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