The search for a juvenile who went missing on Friday has led to a recovery and an arrest.
Sansom Park police arrested a man after a missing child was allegedly found in his apartment. As revealed in a press release, the authorities were alerted to the minor’s disappearance from the Sansom Bluff Apartments, located in the 2900 block of La Junta Street, on March 22.
Police officers from Sansom Park, Fort Worth, White Settlement, River Oaks, Westworth Village, and Castleberry ISD conducted a search, resulting in the child being ultimately located in the suspect’s home.
The suspect — who has yet to be identified — is unknown to the child’s family and has been booked on child endangerment charges.
“At this time, further information is being withheld while the investigation continues,” the Sansom Park police stated.
As recently reported by The Dallas Express, kidnapping victims logged in Dallas this year have overwhelmingly tended to be black and Hispanic individuals. As of March 24, Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6 in northwestern Dallas has logged the most kidnappings of all — 7 out of 34.
Each day nationwide, an average of 2,100 children are reported missing, with roughly 800 later revealed as false alarms. Overall, most kidnappings tend to involve family members, with just 28% committed by strangers, according to the Child Crime Prevention and Safety Center. Nonetheless, kidnappings by a non-relative tend to have the worst outcomes.
The Dallas Police Department investigates crimes against children within a specialized unit comprising five different squads. Nonetheless, DPD has been laboring against a serious staffing shortage, fielding only around 3,000 officers. Meanwhile, a City report previously recommended approximately 4,000 as needed to ensure public safety in Dallas.
This fiscal year, the Dallas City Council opted to budget DPD just $654 million, which falls well short of the spending levels seen on police in other high-crime jurisdictions, including New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
