Gone Missing
Have you ever heard of Morgan Johnson? Probably not. He’s 27-years old and has been missing since May 18th. He was last seen at the Value Place Hotel on Gateway Drive in Plainfield. He has a history of seizures and his family doesn’t think he has his medication with him. And by the way, he’s also African-American.
There have only been a handful of stories in the local news about Johnson’s disappearance. However stories regarding missing IU-Bloomington student Lauren Spierer have blanketed the news. I feel for the families of both Spierer and Johnson because there is nothing worse than a loved one who has gone missing. But what about all the other people who have disappeared?
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, 18 people have been reported missing this month. On any given day there are about 190 open missing persons cases, some of which have dated back to the 1980s. There are six detectives who work on these cases which include runaways and non-custodial parental abductions, which ironically is up this year. The unit has a 94% clearance rate. But did any of these missing people get coverage?
And if you think about it, take a look at some of the national stories over the past few years you will see the same pattern. Remember Laci Peterson who was murdered by her husband back in 2002. Well at the same time, LaToyia Figueroa, a black woman from Philadelphia was also murdered by her husband and got no media attention. Polly Klaas, Chandra Levy, Elizabeth Smart, Natalee Hollway; the list just goes on and on.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the Spierer family that their daughter will be found safe and sound, but it would be nice if someone had tweeted a $10,000 reward for Morgan Johnson, but for now all we can hope for is his safe return to his family, because it doesn’t look like he’s going to get as much outside assistance.
Editor’s note: Plainfield Police have asked that anyone with information on Johnson’s disappearance contact them at 317-839-2566.
