Local law enforcement sees sharp increase in calls for missing persons - WOAI
BEXAR COUNTY - Local law enforcement is sounding the alarm and warning about a sharp increase in calls for missing persons.
The Bexar County Sheriff's Office is 155 calls over the last month or so.
That's more than double what BCSO saw last year.
A local private investigator says the spike may be related to covid-19.
It's been more than 150 days since sylvia and Philip Martinez have seen their sweet 13-year-old granddaughter, Liliana.
"She was very bright, very smart, straight A's in school,” said Liliana’s grandmother, Sylvia.
She was last seen along Rivas Street, on the city's West Side.
Right now, her grandparents fear the worst.
"I just want to know that she's fine, who she's with, because she's like my daughter,” said Philip Martinez, Liliana’s grandfather.
Phillip and Sylvia are just one family in San Antonio who are worried about their missing loved one.
The Bexar County Sheriff's Office has steadily seen a major increase in calls for missing persons.
We regularly feature these people on our segment -- Help Us Find.
But just over the last few weeks, there’s been a sharp increase.
"We've gotten 155 calls. The same time period last year, we had 68. So, that tells me that those numbers are up drastically. I don't know why,” said Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar. "That's pretty dramatic."
Kelly Riddle, a local private investigator, says he believes this spike could be because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With everybody closed up with Covid, you know, a lot of the lot of the teenagers are needing to get out and see their friends,” said Riddle.
He says it's teenagers -- ages 12 to 17 years old -- who are the most vulnerable.
"They're trying to bridge into adulthood. And they're not really sure how to do that a lot of times, and so they're, they're easily baited into scenarios that they wouldn't normally if they were a little older,” said Riddle.
He says parents with children in this specific age group should pay close attention to what their kids are doing online.
He adds the younger they are, the more dangerous predators can be. "They're young, they're trying to figure out how to get into adulthood. And because of that, you know, with COVID thrown in the mix, I mean, you've really got to pay attention to them,” said Riddle.
The Bexar County Sheriff's Office believes one solution to this -- hosting human trafficking seminars.
source: https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/local-law-enforcement-sees-sharp-increase-in-calls-for-missing-persons
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