Philadelphia police concerned as 6 children go missing from different districts in a week
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: As many as six children between the ages of 12 and 16 went missing in Philadelphia in a week, police have said. The Philadelphia Police Department said the cases are not connected, but that the problem is becoming extremely common in the city. The children went missing between April 23 and April 30 from different districts.
"They're definitely not related," a spokesperson for the department told Daily Mail. "We have kids missing a lot. These children, they're all from different districts. They go missing for a few days. The mum or dad or guardian will go to the detective and say the kids missing. This is just a normal thing, unfortunately."
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Who are the missing children?
The first child to go missing was 15-year-old Leaneli 'Lea' Santiago, who was last seen on Sunday, April 23, at 11.55 pm, on Loretto Avenue in North Philadelphia. She is 4'9", 95 pounds, and thin. She is said to have black hair and brown eyes. She reportedly frequents the area around Cohen Elementary School and Woodrow Wilson Middle School.
The next child that went missing was 13-year-old Kayla Marie Burgess. She was seen leaving for school on the morning of April 24, on E Johnson Street. Burgess is 5'2", 119 pounds, and has a medium brown complexion. She has black hair and brown eyes. Burgess was last seen wearing a pink and orange hoodie, and jeans.
Sixteen-year-old Malachi Portus was last seen on Wednesday, April 26, near North 25th Street He is 6'0", 160lbs, has a tall build, brown eyes, and a medium complexion. He has short black hair with a mustache. Portus was last seen wearing a black hoody, red bonnet, dark jeans, a black backpack, and black and white Vans sneakers.
Amirah Portlock-Harris, 12, went missing on Saturday, April 29. She was last seen that day at 12.30 pm on Germantown Avenue. She is 5'6", 135 pounds, and has braided black hair with multiple red braids. She has brown eyes and was last seen wearing a tie-dye sweatshirt, black jeans, and tan New Balance sneakers. Police said she likes to frequent the Center City and Fashion District area.
The most recent disappearance is that of Aaron Hammond, 12, who was last seen on Sunday, April 30, at 12.40 pm on Sydenham St. He had an afro at the time he vanished, unlike in the pictures. He is 5'3", 100 pounds, and has a thin build. He has a dark skin tone, brown hair, and brown eyes.
Is one of the children back home?
Maddison Brozoski, 15, went missing on Tuesday, April 25. She was last seen in Scranton on the same day, but it is believed she could be somewhere in the area of East Allegheny Avenue. She is 5'7" tall, 175 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. However, a Facebook post by user Chloe Rowlands, who had been posting about Brozoski's disappearance for a long time, claimed on April 26 that the child is back home safely. MEAWW was unable to independently verify this information.