Missing and FORGOTTEN

With renewed searches for Madeleine McCann making headlines, what about the thousands of other children who go missing in the UK each year?

- VERONIQUE HAWKSWORTH.

Every parent's worst nightmare played out in the news when Madeleine McCann went missing in Portugal in May 2007. It's a story we all know well, one we will all have discussed with friends, colleagues or loved ones over the years. The tragic story of her disappearance was shared all over the world and has remained embedded in our minds. Now, 16 years on, the angelic little girl is still making headlines, most recently due to the search of a reservoir 30 miles from where she was last seen. It seems everyone is invested in finding out the truth about what happened to Madeleine, but what about the thousands of other children and young people reported missing each year in the UK?

According to figures published in May, there are currently more than 1,500 children considered to be long-term missing' across the UK. Not only that, but it's recently been reported that race plays a major part in whether a child is likely to be found or not.

A shocking report by charity Missing People found that while Black children account for a significant proportion of those who are missing, they are less likely to be found by police, and Black and Asian children are more likely to be missing for longer periods of time. Sadly, this has real consequences for the children and families involved - just last year, police were forced to apologise for not taking the 2021 disappearance of teenager Richard Okorogh eye seriously enough. Reporting him missing to the police in March that year, Richard's mum, Evidence Joel, was met with apathy, with an officer telling her, ‘If you can’t find your son, how do you expect us to?’