In the case of Zachary Briary, who went missing in 2016, police declared him “voluntarily missing” because he was living independently from his parents. Law enforcement is likely to see disabled adults as ‘dependable’ and therefore do not see it as ‘critical’ that they are found, unlike if a disabled child were missing.
Disabled people of color are even more likely to go missing, as they are part of both risk groups. Many factors can play into why disabled people are so likely to go missing: disabled people are more likely to struggle with a mental illness, have problems with the law, or be homeless. This would suggest that disabled people would be prominent among missing persons we hear about but that just isn’t the case- there are only two well-known instances. According to the Missing People Research Project, nearly one-third of missing people have some kind of intellectual disability. It’s also interesting to note how rarely we see disabled people making the headlines. She received little coverage because she was black and from an impoverished family but is believed to have been taken by an employee at DC General Shelter, where she lived. Relisha Rudd was eight years old when she went missing in 2014 and claims from authorities that nothing could be done to prevent her disappearance have been rebutted. Even those who do get media attention are often portrayed differently, focusing on the victim’s problems, such as troubled pasts or abusive boyfriends, or are seen as hopeless cases. Activists have tried to bring attention to this issue, such as through the #MissingDCGirls in 2017. The shocking truth is that some children, especially those from marginal backgrounds, just slip through the cracks in the system. The former (white) attracted national attention and ended up being found, while the latter (black) did not and is still missing to this day. Comparisons have been drawn between the abductions of Elizabeth Smart and Alexis Patterson, for example. Such cases demonstrate the lack of urgency and attention when black kids go missing. Cases often fly completely under the radar, such as the murder of Stephen and Stoni Blair, who were missing for three years before their bodies were uncovered in their very own homes. People of color are overrepresented in missing statistics and equally underrepresented in the media: sociologist Zach Sommers found black victims received disproportionately less news coverage than white ones. So, why do missing posters seem to be plastered with white, middle-class, able girls? It’s nearly always a white face on the side of milk cartons.ĭisabled people, as well as people of color, are among those more likely to go missing than the average person but seem to be less likely to hold the attention of the public for a few months, let alone several years. This is a phenomenon in which white women and girls from middle-class backgrounds receive the most media attention. People have been critical of the media attention garnered by Madeleine McCann, as she is one of the biggest examples of what is called “missing white woman syndrome”. If nothing else, the McCanns have been persistent in the search for their daughter. When it first happened, the McCann case was all over the news than in the way that coronavirus is now, (you couldn’t move for hearing about it), and every few years the story seems to rear its head again.
Even thirteen years later, everybody recognizes the iconic photo of the blonde toddler staring directly into the camera. Madeleine McCann is one of the most famous cases of missing children and shook the entire world at the time of her disappearance. Disabled people, as well as people of color, are among those more likely to go missing than the average person but seem to be less likely to hold the attention of the public for a few months, let alone several years. However, the McCann case is still ongoing and continues to earn global media attention, in spite of the fact that someone is reported missing every 90 seconds in the UK. It’s been over a decade since Madeleine McCann went missing in Portugal.
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