Since late July, nearly a dozen children and teenagers have disappeared in North Dakota.
The North Dakota Attorney General’s Office missing person’s registry currently lists nine juveniles as still missing, with the earliest disappearance dating back to July 28.
The Forum previously reported that a total of twelve children had gone missing since late July, though some have since been located or removed from the registry.
The two most recent cases were reported on Sunday, August 17.
“That feels like a lot when you say it out loud,” Agent Steven Harstad of the state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation told The Forum, describing the increase as “concerning.”
Harstad does not believe the disappearances are connected, but he cautioned that the true number of missing children could be higher. Some runaways are not always reported to authorities.
“A lot of times, a runaway is not even reported to law enforcement because they have come back in the past,” he said. “But even if that child has run away 20 times, the 21st time might be the time they’ve gotten into a bad situation.”
According to the state registry, the most recent missing person is 16-year-old Alexa Taylor, who was last seen on August 17.
