Have We Forgotten About Relisha?

With as fast as news spreads and a story only getting its real 15 minutes. It leaves me puzzled that a story about a homeless girl missing and has yet to be found. For weeks, this story was in headlines about this young girl and dreadful life she lived in a DC homeless shelter. But the moment the police have no more leads I felt like this story was put to rest. 

There are thousands, if not millions of children that go missing and don't get a shed of light on the fact that they are. I know this story is a bit off subject as to my normal post but this hits a bit close to home for me. I'm a mother and I live in the DC area. It bothers me how things were handled with this case, from the parent of young Relisha to the system in which we place our trust into to take care of our children. 

From the beginning, things this story felt a bit fishy. No one was made aware of this little girl's disappearance until weeks after she was missing. An Amber Alert was sent out, but not to the entire east coast. The relatives never questioned an older man's interest in a little girl. The public never sought to help this family even after numerous complaints to Social Services about the welfare of not just Relisha, but her brothers as well. Relisha's cheerleading coach had the best answer as to who failed Relisha...everyone. 

Children give us signs of mistreatment and neglect. When children don't want to be with their moms, there's problem. When they don't want to go home, there's a problem. Why didn't anyone take the time to investigate this child's life before she went missing? As a mom, I will always question the interest of not just a man but of an adult as a whole. This man was not a teacher, a coach, a doctor, or a counselor. Clearly, we've known the statement is true: You can't judge a book by its cover. So how was this taken so lightly. 

To answer my number one question, the community hasn't quite forgotten about Relisha. But I think maybe one to many people have. My prayers go out to this little girl, wherever she may be. May she be returned to the ones who truly love and care about her.