There's a 5-year-old child missing in Glendale, Arizona, and she needs to be found ASAP.
The grandmother of an Arizona girl missing for more than a week has pleaded for more attention from police investigators and the national media, saying that the case of her granddaughter's disappearance hasn't been made a priority because she's black.
Jahessye Shockley was last seen October 11 by her three older siblings at their Glendale apartment in suburban Phoenix while their mother was out running an errand.
Glendale police believe Jahessye left the home through the front door but don't know what happened next.
They have no suspects, evidence or promising leads despite search efforts that included more than 100 officers and volunteers canvassing the area within three miles of the girl's home.
Jahessye's grandmother, Shirley Johnson, and about a dozen of her friends and neighbours went to the state capitol in Phoenix on Thursday to draw more attention to the case in hopes of finding the girl alive.
'The Glendale Police Department has not brought this to the forefront.
They botched this investigation,' Mrs Johnson told reporters. 'I believe it's because she's a little black girl.'
Glendale police Sergeant Brent Coombs said that he can't say strongly enough how the girl's race does not matter to investigators.
'What matters is there's a five-year-old girl missing,' he said. 'It's the department's No. 1 priority.
There's more backstory at the Daily Mail. And I'm not surprised about the tepid response, or lack of it. Young black women and girls were never a priority for LEOs or mainstream media. Neither were Hispanics, for that matter.
So once again, people are going to have to bypass the "lamestream" media and get the story out themselves. Get on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. Word of mouth. Posters and banners. Start spreading this story so people will know and be on the lookout.
By the way, there will always be assholes among us:
My heart goes out to that family, but DO NOT say such ridiculous things. When over 50% of your race commits ALL CRIMES IN AMERICA you don't have a leg to stand on. Tell your brothers and sisters to STOP IT. Then, the press will feel something.
Yet another case study of the terminal illness plaguing the nation.
