Case about Runaways

Every year, millions of children run away from home, putting themselves at risk of becoming victims of human trafficking.

Locally, the Heidi Search Center finds itself on the front-lines when it comes to dealing with runaways.November is National Runaway Prevention month. The goal is to raise awareness about the issues runaways face and to help educate the public about solutions to the problem.

Over the past 24 years, the center has been involved in plenty of high-profile cases involving the abducted children, but the reality is the majority of cases that come through their doors are runaways.

Executive Director Crystal Calloway said 71 percent of the cases they handle are teen runaways. So far this year there have been 40.

"We have a child right now that's been gone since May and we haven't heard no tips," Calloway said. "These kids are either running to something or away from something but they don't know the dangers they're in."

While local law enforcement might not consider most runaways a high priority, Calloway does.

"Somebody is looking for that child -- the parents, the sisters, cousins, somebody cares that that child is missing," Calloway said. "So for us, we take every case as if it were our child."

Whether a child runs away on their own or they're lured away by someone, Calloway said they're all putting themselves in danger of being victimized.

Statistics show one in three runaways will become victims of human trafficking in their first 48 hours on the streets.

"When you're running away, it's a danger. It's like you put a bull’s-eye on your back and you say, 'Here I am for any predator to do what they want with you,'" Calloway said. "There are things your children are going to do, it's called survival, and that survival-mode is going to kick in and that's what that predator is waiting for. I had a girl, she was gone three or four months, and when she came home she came home changed."

Calloway said that's why it's important to highlight the problem and educate kids about the dangers they face.

"That's what the predator is counting on, that we're not educating our children that we're not telling our children that this is what's out there," Calloway said. "Let's prevent, let's educate, let's get this out, let's start talking."

During the month of November, KSAT is teaming up with the Heidi Search Center to highlight local runaway cases.  A new, long-term runaway case will be highlighted each Friday throughout the month.

http://www.ksat.com/content/pns/ksat/news/2014/11/06/november-is-national-runaway-prevention-month.html