By Dennis Richmond Jr.
On Halloween Eve a teenager went missing and the day after Halloween another teenager went missing. I didn’t see media coverage for either case. Chaessy Rodriguez, 14, went missing in Mount Vernon on October 30th. The day after Halloween, Jenelle Hough, 13, went missing in Albany. As of November 24th, 2022, both teenagers are still listed as missing on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s website.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s website, teenagers across New York State are missing. In October and November, teenagers went missing from everywhere from the Bronx to Warsaw, and Selden to Yonkers. Neilyn DeJesus, 16, is listed as missing from Yonkers since October 16th. Just one day later, Roselin Angeles Suarez, 17, is listed as missing from Yonkers too. Deyanira Andino, 14, is listed as missing from the Bronx. Deyanira went missing less than a week after Roselin.
In 2021, NPR said, “tens of thousands of Black girls and women go missing every year. Last year, that figure was nearly 100,000. Yet their cases hardly ever grab national headlines.” A journalist in California is doing what she can to try to change that, by telling as many of their stories as she can — and hopefully helping them get the justice they deserve. Our Black Girls centers on the often untold stories of Black girls and women who have gone missing or, in some cases, were found dead under mysterious circumstances.” The website was created by Erika Marie Rivers.
Why are Black and Hispanic teenagers specifically targeted? Dr. Umar Johnson and the late Dick Gregory talked about organ harvesting. People are stealing organs from Black and Hispanic people. Illegal activity, such as payment for this process, takes place on the dark web. Hopefully, none of the missing teenagers, some of whom are white, have a connection to the dark web.
Teenagers across the country are also going missing due to sex trafficking. Last year, a man was arrested for sex trafficking in Detroit on October 14th. A man in Milwaukee was arrested too. According to FOX6 Milwaukee, some of his charges include “interstate transportation for prostitution” and “interstate transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity.”
On October 24th of this year, Florida police broke up a sex trafficking ring. Not to mention, a story just broke on November 19th, 2022. According to WCBS News Radio 880, a New York man, 26, pleaded guilty to attempted sex trafficking of a 14 year old.
I don’t know if any of the missing teenagers have been found. I haven’t found any information stating that they have. I also don’t know if any of the missing teens in New York are victims of organ harvesting or sex trafficking. The continued hope is that everyone’s connected with their loved ones, especially during the holiday season.
That can only happen when more people start talking about it and reporting on it. Visit https://www.missingkids.org/HOME, and https://ourblackgirls.com/, for more information.
Dennis Richmond, Jr., is an author and journalist focused on the Black, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ Community. He lives in Yonkers. Follow him on Twitter @NewYorkStakz.
