Families Plea To Find Missing Girls On Chicago's South Side
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Police are addressing a growing concern that predators may be targeting young African American women.
The families of some of the missing women are demanding answers as rumors continue to spread about their cases on social media.
CBS 2's Jim Williams reports Chicago Police Superintendent is responding to the family's questions.
Flyers are posted on light poles, bus stops, and local businesses near 63rd Street and Damen Avenue for missing 13-year-old Yasminda Mitchell.
Tanika Jackson, Yasminda Mitchell's cousin, is asking for help from the community and police.
"Everybody's so stressed out," said Jackson. "It's just too much, with all the stuff going on," she stated, referring to the reports of missing and murdered African American women and girls.
LaTonya Moore's 26-year-old daughter went missing before she was found dead in a garage last week.
"She has a 7-year-old," Moore stated through tears. "I need help and I can't even tell my grandbaby her mother is gone."
Reverend Robin Hood and other activists are accusing police of not taking the cases seriously.
Rev. Robin Hood said, "We demand answers. Is there a predator on the loose? If it were any place else in the state of Illinois where it was predominately white or rich people, you would have a dragnet looking for people."
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson issued a response to the outcry. He stated, "There's a lot of misinformation going on about these black females that are coming up missing," insisting only two cases are related.
The two girls that had been reported missing are back home. He says the medical examiner has not determined that the other cases are homicides.
"Right now, there is no credible information that we have a serial kidnapper going around in the black community pillaging. That's just not true," stated Johnson.
Supt. Eddie Johnson said in two cases, the young women were involved in drugs, drug sales, and prostitution.
Rumors have been spread regarding the missing women on social media. Johnson said, "I haven't read the posts. I stick to facts."
Meanwhile, the family of missing 13-year-old Yasminda Mitchell says they will be handing out more flyers around their Englewood community Wednesday night.
