Three young, Black girls from the Bronx were found safely in New Jersey after going missing earlier this week. Initially, the girls went missing from Henry Ittleson Center in Riverdale on Tuesday evening. Run by the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, the center treats children for emotional trauma. Immediately after learning of the situation, city authorities launched a search for the three young girls.
As the search forged on, users on Instagram and Twitter joined in. From posts to tweets to stories, images and informations for the trio were posted and reposted thousands of times on Wednesday and Thursday. Local Black Lives Matter groups in New York also put together search parties to help find the three pre-teens.
Unfortunately, this week's story of three missing Black children is not uncommon. In 2019, a report from CNN found that Black children make up 14% of the minor population. However, 37% of missing children are Black. Overall, Black people make up less than 15% of the U.S. population. Tragically, Black people make up 33.7% of missing people in the country.
Fortunately, the story of these three young girls had a happier ending than most. The girls were found on Thursday evening in Newark, New Jersey. At this time, it is unclear what led to their brief disappearance. Authorities did note that the girls were found in "good condition" before being taking to New York's 50th precinct in the Bronx.
Note: The identities of the missing children were not included in this report because they are minors.
Photo: Getty Images