By Sharon Rose
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| Ajah Blackledge - FOUND and reunited with family. |
Found! Each day that we awake and start our day, we seek happiness and a reason to smile. Yesterday, that happened for me when good news arrived, that missing person, 18 year-old Ajah Blackledge of Hoover, AL, missing for 4 weeks, had been found alive and well, in South Florida. Ajah’s uncle and aunt, Kenny and Dionne Blackledge of Atlanta, GA, are close family friends, so I followed this case closely with the hope that Ajah would be found, unharmed. Ajah had been missing since January 29, 2018, and from that moment on her family had been experiencing terrifying feelings of helplessness and fear. It is heartbreaking for parents and family when a child and loved one is missing and there's a fear they are in harm’s way. Through this dark time, the Blackledge family, diligently, worked with law officials, made use of print and network media, social media, flyers, supported one another, and appealed to the wider community to share Ajah’s picture. They worked hard to bring her home. They received an outpouring of help, support, and sharing of information about Ajah's missing person case. Yesterday, their shared dream for the last 4 weeks, came true. The light emerged! They join a small percentage of families that find their missing loved one, who was missing for this long. Now, for the Blackledge family, grieving for the loss of their missing loved one must transition in to a healing period.
At any given time, there are 100,000 active missing persons cases in the United States. Of the 692,944 people reported missing in 2010, 531,928 were under the age of 18. According to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC), 355,243 women were reported missing in 2010 compared to 337,660 men. The FBI reports that in 2016 there were 465,676 NCIC entries for missing children. Similarly, in 2015, the total number of missing children entries into NCIC was 460,699. Ajah Blackledge fits in the category of the 2% critically missing young adults, ages 18 to 20.
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| Ajah Blackledge, has been FOUND. Her family worked with the police department, created press releases for social media, such as a Facebook page with updates; news media interviews and; flyers; etc., to get the word out that their loved one was missing. *See our resource list to find out what to do if you have a loved one who is missing. |
Now that Ajah, a student at Lawson State Community College, has been found, the family can be reunited and start the process of healing. Previously missing persons, and their families who have experienced this kind of disruption in the family dynamic, should reach out to general physicians, mental health care providers, and if they desire, spiritual leaders, to start the road forward, to a better and brighter day. I send best wishes to Ajah and the Blackledge family as they travel the road, forward.
*More on the Ajah Blackledge Story:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/articles.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2018/02/missing_hoover_teen_ajah_black.amp
*Resources for Families of Missing Persons - What You Should Do:
*Resources for Families of Missing Persons to Promote Healing:
http://inspireadifference.com/missing-person-resources/
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-469244
http://inspireadifference.com/missing-person-resources/
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-469244
Copyright, When a Loved One is Missing, Sharon Rose, Parents Want to Know 101, February 28, 2018. All rights reserved.
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