disparity in reporting missing persons

[Nona Best]

Hello Everyone,
Hope all is well.
I have received multiple phone calls since the Gabby Petito case has gone national.
Why this particular case has brought the attention to this well known, long going disparity of media
not reporting on minority people, I do not know.
I only did one interview and turned down the rest because I don’t have the answer to that question.

(1) Did anyone else get calls for interviews pertaining to the Gabby case or questions about disparity?
(2) Are there any other (I am black) African American or minority Clearing House Managers or Missing Persons Specialist?

Thanks for all your inputs, suggestions and comments. I know CBS news did a special on it but I wasn’t
able to see the entire video. If anyone has it please send me the Link with the entire video.
Nona Best
Director
NC Center for Missing Persons

[Julie Willard]

I haven’t received any calls about Gabby and I’ve had no complaints either, but I’m in Oregon so maybe that’s why. It is curious how certain cases seem to catch the eye of reporters. And I have to say, it’s easy to understand why the families of the other missing people get upset about it. There really aren’t many that do catch media’s eye if you consider how many missing people there are on any given day!

[Melissa Marchant]

Hi Nona!
I am the new AMBER Alert Coordinator and Missing Persons Program Manager in WI. I started in May! To answer your questions posted:

1. I’ve had 2 TV interviews since I started. My main role in those interviews was to talk about Wisconsin’s AMBER and Silver Alert programs. The Wausau, WI TV station did reach out I believe, in part, because of the national attention to the Gabby Petito case. This is what they took from my interview:
“We have had 10 activations and we have recovered all of our kids safely, and I believe quite quickly because of the Amber Alerts,” said Melissa Marchant, Wisconsin Amber Alert Coordinator.
The reporter at the end also stressed the importance of reporting immediately and that there is no waiting period to report a person missing which is what I stressed in my interview. She briefly mentioned Gabby’s case but never addressed why some have more attention than others.
https://waow.com/2021/09/20/law-enforcement-weigh-in-on-missing-persons-cases/
I was recently asked to do a presentation for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force in Wisconsin on increasing awareness in their communities on reporting missing persons and the resources we have in the Clearinghouse.
2. I am not a minority

If there is anything else I can do to assist, please do not hesitate to contact me!
Melissa

[Denise O’Leary]

Texas Center for the Missing has also received calls for interviews. Our case worker Melissa Rangel handled the interview. She turned down another interview.

[Jolene Hardesty]

Good morning, Nona!
To the best of my knowledge, we in Michigan have had zero interviews and media requests since Gabby’s case came about. I have, however, received a few inquiries from friends and family members who know me personally to talk about the disparities… but I am white, so I don’t know if that plays a factor?

[Nona Best]

Thanks to everyone has responded and shared input.
Do think we as state Clearing houser managers can have any kind of active
role in changing the disparity?
The Psychologist in the news story called it the “Missing White Woman Snydrome” It’s historical.
Maybe if we start calling it what it is (once we educate ourseves a lttle) and INCLUDING THIS in our trainings
WE will start the “snowball” effect for change. Using interview like the one below in our training on missing persons.

https://www.cbsnews.com/live/video/20210927160215-gabby-petito-case-highlights-racial-disparities-in-coverage-of-missing-persons/?traffic_source=Connatix

Thanks everyone!

[Author]

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