The link above is to the article that got me thinking: Why are they focusing on Mexico? I am sure that many people disappear here in the United States. Some basic research indicated that there are hundreds of thousands of people who disappear here in the United States. I was right, as shown by the data below.
Approximately 600,000 people are reported missing in the U.S. every year, according to data from the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) and the FBI. While this number sounds high, the vast majority of cases are resolved quickly, with only a small fraction of individuals remaining missing for more than a year.
Key Statistics
- Total Reports: In 2024, there were 533,936 missing person files in the U.S..
- Resolved Cases: Most cases are closed within the same year; for instance, over 485,000 of 521,705 reported cases in 2021 were resolved.
- Long-Term Missing: Tens of thousands of cases remain open for over a year.
- Unidentified Bodies: Roughly 4,400 unidentified bodies are discovered every year.
- Youth Cases: Roughly 30% to 35% of missing person reports involve minors (under 18).
- Contextual Factors
- Daily Activity: The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) maintains a running database of active records that fluctuates daily.
- Reasons for Disappearance: Many individuals leave voluntarily due to personal factors like stress, trauma, or abuse, rather than foul play.
- Reporting: There is no waiting period to report a missing person to local law enforcement.
- While many cases are resolved, thousands remain active, and the data shows that 20,000 to over 80,000 cases can remain open at any one time, depending on when they are recorded.
So why Mexico, why the scare tactics? Any parent or person whose loved one disappears should be concerned, but why pick on Mexico?
From the article link above.
State actors are involved in disappearances in Mexico at an “alarming” rate, according to a report from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
The sweeping investigation, to which the Guardian was given exclusive access, presents a dire picture of the crisis of disappearances in Mexico, where more than 130,000 people have gone missing, mostly in the last 20 years since the government declared its war on drug cartels.
While criminal gangs are responsible for the vast majority of disappearances, the IACHR report found that “many of the disappearances committed by organised crime occur in deep collusion and coordination with state agents”.
Meanwhile, “disappearances committed [directly] by state agents have not yet been eradicated”, the report reads, noting that, in some parts of the country, at times there were almost as many disappearances carried out by government officials as there were by criminals.
Here in Houston, hundreds of bodies have been found, many have not been identified, and way too many that have been found, the method of their deaths is UNDETERMINED.
.
