SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — The worst nightmare for any parent is a missing child. It's something that can happen to anyone, anywhere and at any time.
But Black people are the ones who go missing at a disproportionate rate.
As a concerned mother, Tiearrar Subia gave a tearful interview with ABC10 at her home in Carmichael Jan. 19, 2023. At that time, she said her 16-year-old daughter was gone.
"I just want you to come home," Subia said during the interview. "I'm just trying to figure out where could she be and if she's okay."
Subia told us, Nykari Johnson went missing Dec. 2, 2022. That same night, the family filed a missing persons report with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies added the file to California's missing persons database, called The Missing and Unidentified Persons Section, or MUPS.
On Jan. 23, 2023, the family rallied outside of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, demanding more be done. According to Sgt. Amar Gandhi, Public Information Officer with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, Johnson was not considered at-risk.
During the rally, community advocate Berry Accius blamed law enforcement's decision on race, stating, "It shouldn't take us standing by the Sheriff's Office with signs and pictures talking about a missing girl."
When it comes to missing persons cases, Gandhi says "race and ethnicity do not play a factor in how we deploy resources or what our response is."
On Feb. 4, 2023, Johnson was found safe. Accius helped in reuniting the family, along with dozens of others, through a program he created called "She Could Be My Daughter."
"Most of the times when families come to me, they're not getting any help from media, community or law enforcement," said Accius. "It's easy to take Black girls. No one cares. No one is going to say anything. We have to do a lot more. A lot of our young girls, when they go missing, they end up being sex trafficked."
According to the Black and Missing Foundation, Black people make up nearly 40% of reported missing persons in the U.S. But they only account for 13% of the population.
Senator Steven Bradford (D-Los Angeles) introduced California Senate Bill 673 to create an "Ebony Alert" to help find missing Black people in the state.
“The Ebony Alert would ensure that resources and attention are given so we can bring home missing Black women and Black children in the same way we would search for any missing child and missing person,” said Bradford.
SB 673 would authorize a law enforcement agency to request that an Ebony Alert be activated if that agency determines it would be an effective tool in the investigation of a missing Black youth or young women between the ages of 12 and 25.
It would also encourage, but not require, television, cable, satellite and social media systems to cooperate with disseminating the information contained in an Ebony Alert.
"Many African American girls go missing and they're listed as runaways, versus being abducted," said Bradford. "When someone who is missing is incorrectly listed as a runaway, they basically vanish a second time. They vanish from the police detectives' workload. They vanish from the headlines. In many ways, no one even knows they are missing."
California Amber Alerts are initiated solely by state law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement agencies must follow strict activation criteria before an alert is activated. The alert cannot be used in runaway cases that do not meet the criteria.
As a Black mother living in Sacramento, Nikkia Hamilton supports the idea of an Ebony Alert, along with any other resources, to help support Black families and their communities.
"We don't see a lot of coverage or assistance when a Black child, women or man is missing," said Hamilton.
For Hamilton, one of the scariest moments was when her daughter got lost walking alone.
She says her daughter, who was 4-years-old at the time, was quickly found safe at a neighbor's home. But that's not always the case for other Black children and their families.
"Just in that moment, it was terrifying," said Hamilton. "I cannot imagine the mothers who actually go through that experience and their child is really missing."
If your child ever goes missing, call police immediately to file a report. You do not have to wait a specific time or hour. You can also make every effort to get the news, government officials and organizations like "She Could Be My Daughter," to help you.
For more information, visit the official website of the U.S. Department of Justice.