Missing in Harris County Day goes virtual amid pandemic
It’s been a decade since then-16-year-old Alexandria Lowitzer disappeared after stepping off her school bus in Spring. But for her mother, Jo Ann Lowitzer, the pain of April 26, 2010, feels like yesterday.
Staying active in the search for
Ali, as she calls her daughter, and helping other people has, in turn, helped Lowitzer cope. She has become a leader in supporting families with similar experiences, several of whom got together at a virtual meeting Saturday as part of the sixth annual Missing in Harris County Day.
As with many other events that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, the meeting faced some challenges. Among them, the inability to do onsite DNA collection from families of the missing, or to offer valuable in-person support from agencies and families.
“We miss the hugs,” said Beth Alberts, chief executive officer of Texas Center for the Missing, the coordinating agency located in
Houston. She urged families and friends of missing people to initiate cases with their guidance and access to search resources.
Since the event started in 2015, 58 DNA samples have been collected, leading to the identification of 13 missing persons found dead. Six other people have been located alive.
The DNA collected from family members is used to search for matches principally through the NamUs, the national information clearinghouse and resource center for missing, unidentified and unclaimed person cases.
Alberts said that “the magnitude of missing people is a huge problem” locally and in the United States.
She said that in 2019 alone, the Texas Department of Public Safety Missing Persons Clearinghouse took in 52,214 missing person reports, including 42,093 children. Over 8,000 missing child cases were filed in Harris County and 10,629 in the 14county Houston-Galveston region.
Nationwide, 609,275 new missing person reports were entered last year in the FBI’s National Crime Information Center, which most law enforcement agencies use. About 70 percent of those cases were missing minors.
Experts say that the majority of missing children cases are runaways, most of whom are eventually found alive. Some, however, become victims of human trafficking.
The second most common scenario is parental kidnapping or custodial interference. In this case, the non-custodial parent disappears with the child without informing the one with custody. Acquaintance kidnapping follows with less than 5 percent of the cases.
The most dangerous — and rare — cause of missing children is abduction by a stranger. “They
tend to be about 100 cases a year, but they are the cases where the child is most at risk of assault and injury, and possibly death.”
Missing person cases and many cold cases investigated by law enforcement agencies where no body has been found depend on tips.
“Without that call, we cannot put the resources in motion to solve a case,” said Melissa Rangel, case manager at the Texas Center for the Missing. She added that it isn’t uncommon that families don’t come forward for fear of the police or because of unauthorized immigration status. But she insisted that the officers working with the center are only interested in finding the missing.
Denise O’Leary, a missing person investigator with the Harris County Sheriff ’s Office, said that many cases could be solved if more people would come forward with reports and tips.
“There are around 430 people buried in two (local) cemeteries that are unidentified,” said O’Leary. “We would love for the public to share any information with us by calling (713) 755-7427, no matter how small they think it is; anything could be helpful.”
Family members expressed some frustration at a private virtual meeting during the event, said Lowitzer. Ali’s mother mentioned, for example, that they unanimously feel they don’t get enough support from the media to publicize their cases and get help from the public.
Lowitzer created an informal group for people like her to meet and support each other regularly between the annual event and is planning one for next month with the help of the Texas Center for the Missing.
“This is really a hard subject to talk about for people who have a loved one missing, so why not talk with others going through the same pain?” she said.