Editorials & Other Articles
In reply to the discussion: (1) How Unsolved Missing Person Cases Are Solved (Pt. 1) [View all]AmyStrange
(7,989 posts)-
Group of friends use tech to help missing teen with autism get home
WBAL Updated: 6:03 PM EST Jan 12, 2021
BALTIMORE An act of kindness along with some handy technology saved a missing Baltimore teen last week.
Akoya Owens was near her home earlier this month when she found a 17-year-old girl with autism wandering the streets near Berger Avenue.
"There wasn't much I knew about her around that time, so I took her home, I fed her, I gave her, you know, a clean place to sleep," Owens said.
Later that day, there was a breakthrough. Owens and her friends pieced together that the girl was the same missing person identified in an alert from the Citizen app.
"So (Jawan Caldwell) downloaded the app and ended up getting in contact with the director (of the Creative Options Group Home) and (Assistant Director Kenya Lee) asked for her picture to be sent. So, when I sent the picture of the little girl, she confirmed that that was her," said Ayanna Richardson.
The group home director said thanks to some good thinking and the app's location tech, the girl was brought home safely soon after.
"It was through the app, people being, you know, having the app on their phone where they were able to know, 'Oh wow, I just saw this young lady,' and they were responsive. So that was very, very helpful," Lee said.
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https://www.wbaltv.com/article/group-of-friends-help-missing-teen-with-autism-return-home-citizen-app/35191911#
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