Snipped from an older Colorado Springs newspaper highlighting runaway stats and protocol. Interesting read:
So when you consider that Colorado Springs Police and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office work a combined total of some 900 runaway-teen cases each year, it brings home the possibility of a tragic end to a life that's just getting started.
Police and sheriff's personnel say they prioritize runaways as much as they can, given that running away from home isn't a crime, but they can't call out the cavalry every time teenagers decide they'll take their chances on the streets. Springs Police added a part-time investigator last year to focus exclusively on runaways, but he can do only so much. So in some ways, parents are on their own if their teen runs away, and a search can turn into an agonizing ordeal of waiting and wondering.
The Sheriff's Office sends deputies to take runaway reports in person, and if the child isn't found within 45 days, dental records and DNA samples are obtained, Jaworski says — a step in preparation for the most devastating outcome.
Police, too, have that outcome in the back of their minds while working runaway cases, and it's one reason they've beefed up their approach by hiring a part-time civilian investigator, Ken Larsen, who focuses on runaways. By gathering as much information as possible ahead of time, if a youth winds up dead, "We've already started the investigation," Larsen says.
It's that fear that any missing person, or even a runaway, is going to turn into that worst-case scenario," says his boss, Lt. Adrian Vasquez, who oversees violent crimes and Larsen's unit. Larsen works 29 hours a week mining social media for clues to where kids might be hiding. He also talks to friends, classmates, neighbors and others.
Moreover, Larsen says media attention usually isn't a good tool to locate runaways for several reasons. First, there are so many runaways, the public might become numb to such notices. Second, public announcements can either play into kids' attention-seeking behavior or drive them further underground, he says.
She says, via email, "There is a significant correlation between previous abuse at home and runaway rates. For example, children who were sexually abused are more than twice as likely to have run away from home (17 percent) than those who were not sexually abused (7.9 percent). Youths who are physically abused are three times as likely to run."
Runaway
That should take us through dinner time on the east coast!
