CA CA - Bakersfield - Missing Juveniles: Ongoing General Discussion

Unalienable Rights · Dec 1, 2021

We have been using Violet's thread for a general discussion of the problem of the Bakersfield missing teens, and have also had discussion and posted articles and videos on the threads of some of the other missing Bakersfield teens. If, as we hope, some of these kids are located, their threads will be deleted and our discussion, articles and valuable maps will be deleted along with them. I am going to ask the mods where / how we can set up a thread titled something like: CA, Bakersfield, Missing Juveniles, Media, General Discussion, Maps. If it could be in the Missing Persons Discussion, that would be the easiest place for people to find it, especially if they are new to the problem, but I don't know if we would be allowed to do that.

In the meantime, I'm posting three MSM links here that I don't believe have been posted before on any of the Bakersfield threads.

KGET-TV interview from Nov 3, with Bakersfield Police Chief, Greg Terry, discussing the increase in missing persons cases in Kern County.
He says that Bakersfield PD receives about 250 missing juvenile reports per month, but that most of them are quickly found or return home. He also talks about trafficking and homelessness. Video and article.

Chief Terry discusses missing persons cases, rising homicides in Kern | KGET 17

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Following link is about a trafficking raid at a motel in Bakersfield in January 2021 after a years-long investigation.

Three arrested at alleged human trafficking operation at Union Avenue motel Friday

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Very interesting article about a 17 year old girl who was trafficked and held against her will at the Bakersfield motel that was the location of the raid:

Teen in alleged human trafficking case said she was held against her will 4 days: reports | KGET 17

*modnote* see post #2 for list of missing juveniles
New posts with links will be merged into this one. Resolved cases will be changed to initials, age and date

sk716 · Dec 1, 2021

Hopefully the mods will let this go.

A couple of people noticed a spike in missing teens in Bakersfield. Then we started to notice geographic coincidences, date coincidences, and that the majority are minorities.

As such we were having one conversation over 20 threads. A lot of info and resources that are spread out could be condensed here

Bakersfield Missing Teen Map (Google Earth)

MadMcGoo · Dec 1, 2021

MOD NOTE

We decided to start fresh here instead of trying to piece together random posts from the MP threads with those on the new general discussion thread. It would have been a little hard to follow. Please copy and paste any of your posts from here onto this new thread if you'd like. We'll be deleting that one soon.

As a reminder, the RULES apply to this thread the same as any of the individual MP threads. Please be mindful of that.

Also, since this discussion will primarily pertain to juveniles and/or minors, some posts may be deleted/edited in the future if someone is located. This is for obvious reasons.

If you have questions or concerns about the thread or certain posts, don't hesitate to ask! Thanks for helping to make Websleuths amazing!

Mad

sk716 · Dec 1, 2021

Okay gang, I think we're settled again. Thanks to the mods for clearing up around our

Screencap of the map at present.
Google Earth

Unalienable Rights · Dec 1, 2021

Thank you to the mod who moved over the links I posted to the Violet Johnson thread last night.

For those of you who haven't had a chance to read the linked articles, they are in the first post of this thread and I think they are relevant to what we have been discussing. I thought that the article about the 17 year old who was trafficked in Bakersfield was especially interesting. She was taken to a motel and held there for 4 days by a man and a woman who she says were introduced to her by a third party. The woman, who after her arrest identified herself as "an independent escort," said that the girl had made contact with her on social media. I hope that our many missing girls aren't going through what this girl experienced.

ChatteringBirds · Dec 1, 2021

Thanks for creating this thread.

Filly · Dec 1, 2021

Appreciating our Mod and anyone who moved the missing from Bakersfield for us.

Big thanks.

O.K. lovelies here we go...

JurassicParker · Dec 1, 2021

Props to those reporting the Bakersfield missing youngsters. There are so many. I’m thankful that y’all are there for them and getting their names out there.

sk716 · Dec 1, 2021

BrownBear said:
Another one
CA - CA - Jonathan Miranda, 16, no prior history of running away, Bakersfield, 12 Mar 2021

Got him

Unalienable Rights · Dec 1, 2021

In July the Kern County DA, in conjunction with the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, held a 3 day conference to train LE officers to have greater awareness about trafficking. It was attended by LE officers and prosecutors from all over CA and HI. Others attending were elected officials, first responders and hospital workers. The link is for a talk by Oree Freeman who is a trafficking survivor. She talks about her experiences from ages 11 - 15.

Also at the link are remarks by Kern County DA, Cynthia Zimmer, and she is really excellent. I highly recommend spending 4 minutes listening to her. She said that CA has the largest number of exploited children in the country and Kern County has a huge problem. The average age for a girl to be trafficked is 12 years old. She said that one reason that it is hard to control the problem in CA is because in the CA penal code, human trafficking is not considered to be a violent felony. They are working very hard to get the CA legislature to change the law.

https://www.turnto23.com/news/local...ty-district-attorney-speak-out-in-bakersfield

crussell821 · Dec 2, 2021

I had mentioned on another thread that my dad lives nearby in a town called Taft, and I was going to ask him if he’s heard anything about an uptick in missing kids. Last night, he told me he had no idea there were so many kids missing but said it definitely seems unusual. His first reaction was trafficking. Absolutely his own opinion but I was interested to hear it as he has lived in that area for many years and grew up there. MOO

deadfoot13 · Dec 2, 2021

sk716 said:
Hopefully the mods will let this go.

A couple of people noticed a spike in missing teens in Bakersfield. Then we started to notice geographic coincidences, date coincidences, and that the majority are minorities.

As such we were having one conversation over 20 threads. A lot of info and resources that are spread out could be condensed here

Bakersfield Missing Teen Map (Google Earth)
View attachment 324889

These are the teens currently recorded. If info is specific to any of their cases, it should be posted in their threads.

CA - CA - Abrahlyn Amador, 16, no history running away, Bakersfield, 9 Nov 2021 *At Risk*

CA - CA - Angelina Catalan, 15, Bakersfield, 23 Mar 2021

CA - CA - Aniyah Lee, 16, Vine St near Kern Co Fairgrounds, Bakersfield, 9 Nov 2021 *at risk*

CA - CA - Belinda Gonzalez-Granados, 13, No prior history of running away, Bakersfield, 15 Feb 2021

CA - CA - Christian Bell, 17, At-risk/no history as a runaway, Bakersfield, 19 Jul 2021

CA - CA - Eli Hernandez, 17, Bakersfield, 4 Jun 2021

CA - CA - Iris Alexis Castro, 17, Bakersfield, 29 Sep 2020

CA - CA - Jaheim Reece, 16, last seen Hosking Ave near Monitor St, Bakersfield, 30 Oct 2021, "At Risk"

CA - CA - Jesse Addington, 14, At-risk due to age, Bakersfield, 31 May 2021

CA - CA - Juan Jimenez, 15, At-risk/no prior history of running away, Bakersfield, 12 Mar 2021

CA - CA - Layla Renee Romo, 16, was waiting for school bus, Bakersfield, 8 Nov 2021

CA - CA - Leeza Velasquez, 14, At-risk/no history of being a runaway, Bakersfield, 23 Oct 2021

CA - CA - Melainie Marshall, 14, A St near Beale Park, Bakersfield, 15 Nov 2021, At Risk

CA - CA - Mia Martinez, 13, At-risk because of age/no history of running away, Bakersfield, 20 Apr 2021

CA - CA - Michael Amezcua, 16, at-risk/no prior history of running away, Bakersfield, 7 Apr 2021

CA - CA - Oscar Johnson, 15, Bakersfield, 2 Nov 2021

CA - CA - Natalie Lafradez, 15, Bakersfield, 25 Nov 2021

CA - CA - Ra'shad Laws, 11, Belle Terrace near South P St, Bakersfield, 17 Nov 2021, *at risk due to age*

CA - CA - Saige Vest, 16, last seen on Gosford Rd, Bakersfield, 30 Oct 2021

CA - CA - Samuel Girado, 13, Bakersfield, 13 Apr 2020

CA - CA - Serenity Barclay, 17, At risk/no prior history of running away, Bakersfield, 14 Jun 2021

CA - CA - Violet Kache Johnson, 16, Bakersfield, 21 Nov 2021
CA - CA - Fabiola Garcia, 13, At-risk/no prior history of running away, Bakersfield, 14 Feb 2021

CA - Bralynne Thomas, 16, Bakersfield, Marilee Ave, 22 Feb 2021, At Risk, No history of running away

CA - Keilan Denwhitty, 13, Bakersfield, Corner Ridge & Mt Vernon, 7 Mar 2021

CA - CA - Khrystyna Carreno, 12, Bakersfield, 20 Nov 2020

CA - CA - Isaiah Ramos, 15, No prior history of running away, Bakersfield, 17 Sep 2021

ETA:
CA - CA - Philip Velasquez, 16, Medical condition/no history of running away, Bakersfield, 29 Nov 2020
ETA2: CA - CA - Manuel Carreno, 13, no prior history of running away, Bakersfield, 6 Sep 2020

Some of the above are obvious outliers, but it didn't seem right to not give them equal attention.

Big shout out to @BrownBear , @Unalienable Rights , @Hexe , and others for pulling it all together.

Wow, seeing the length of this list is sobering, indeed. Whoever took note of the sheer number of missing kids, good eye for picking up on that!

Unalienable Rights · Dec 2, 2021

OJs thread has been marked "Found Safe" and his thread has been deleted. He was missing from Nov 2. I can't find anything in press about him being found. Does anyone here know where the "found safe" came from?

*modnote*resolved case changed to initials

BrownBear · Dec 2, 2021

Unalienable Rights said:
O. J's thread has been marked "Found Safe" and his thread has been deleted. He was missing from Nov 2. I can't find anything in press about him being found. Does anyone here know where the "found safe" came from?

His poster is no longer on NCMEC so it's presumed resolved. As far a I can tell there was no MSM so it's hard to tell what exactly happened.

sk716 · Dec 3, 2021

Unalienable Rights said:
O.J.'s thread has been marked "Found Safe" and his thread has been deleted. He was missing from Nov 2. I can't find anything in press about him being found. Does anyone here know where the "found safe" came from?

BrownBear said:
His poster is no longer on NCMEC so it's presumed resolved. As far a I can tell there was no MSM so it's hard to tell what exactly happened.

Debated how to handle. On the map, I marked him found safe then hid it from public view. I think he's a runner since he was one we didn't have any info on besides the description and date. If he comes up missing again, we'll know he's a runner and be able to group him accordingly.

I wonder how many we aren't hearing about because a parent is undocumented. Isn't Bakersfield a major hub/crossroad for the migrant farming?

Unalienable Rights · Dec 4, 2021

Copying over some of the links that were posted on individual threads for teens missing in Bakersfield, and consolidating them in this ongoing general discussion thread.

Video from 19 Nov 2021, 23ABC TV. "Officials Address Recent Missing Teens in Kern County." First posted by @Steve McQueen on 19 Nov 2021:

https://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/officials-address-surge-in-missing-teens-in-kern-county

***************************************************
Copying e-mail posted by @Knox on 26 Nov 2021:

I love this, God Bless this organization Log into Facebook

Here in Kern County, we do have some locals trying to make a difference.

“We are going to make a flyer, we are going to go out to the last location, we will knock on doors, we will fill the parking lots, we will do all this for you to help you find your kid,” said January Bottoms, co-founder of Missing Smiles Kern County.

January Bottoms is a Kern County resident who uses social media to spread awareness to help find missing kids.

Through her Facebook page, Missing Smiles of Kern County, she tries to get in contact with the family and puts together a search of volunteers to knock on doors and drive down streets all while live on Facebook.

“Two weeks ago, we had a missing 12-year-old boy. He was found over the live, Veterans Day we had the missing young girl found over the live. And those were because we heard it over the scanner. So, it is just about coming together,” said Bottoms.

She added since they began in July of last year, they have helped reunite about 30 kids with their family in Kern County.

https://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/officials-address-surge-in-missing-teens-in-kern-county

Knox, Nov 26, 2021 Report

Unalienable Rights · Dec 4, 2021

Copying over comments that followed the posting of the above by @Knox, regarding Missing Smiles of Kern Co. Original posts from 26 Nov - 27 Nov.

@Unalienable Rights:
They're fantastic! They should be used a a model for other cities.

When January Bottoms talks about how they work with the families -- and says that they haven't been able to make contact with the families of the latest 6 to go missing (at that time) -- I thought that was very telling.

@Knox : Yes, I can imagine what that means and it makes me very sad.

@I wonder: Absolutely. Not all families want their missing found.

@Unalienable Rights: Also, many kids run from the conditions at home -- sometimes family and sometimes foster care -- hoping for a better life. Unfortunately, that leaves them vulnerable to influence from very dangerous elements.

Unalienable Rights · Dec 4, 2021

Consolidating some of the comments / discussions that were scattered through the individual Bakersfield threads:

@Spyralflare : 7 young teens missing from one town in less than two months?!

@Unalienable Rights : 7 girls and 2 boys in less than 1 month. It's not even a large city population is around 403,000.

@sk716 : I don't want to leap to a lure/trafficking... but something is seriously wrong in Bakersfield. I haven't done my due diligence on the boys but the girls are a combination of high and low risk based on where they disappeared.

As with every other city of any size, there is a population of homeless/runaway teens and one of the girls is thought to be still in the area. It's really hard to catch up with the homeless/runaway kids, they're really good at hiding by necessity. I know where to find some of them here in Little Rock, one of the churches feeds them and doesn't ask questions (LRPD leaves it alone), I'm sure other cities have a similar situations. I think this group is aware of the Bakersfield gathering places.

@Knox :
Is there evidence any of the kids knew each other? Valley Bible Fellowship posted Layla's poster and said she attended with her Aunt. The Church is out that way, so her missing location makes sense.
Thank you for creating the map! Did you note Sgt Pair's comment - an average of 70 missing/runaway juveniles per week are reported? That seems high, but I live in the county to the west of Kern which is very small. We rarely have a child/teen reported missing, that happens more frequently in Santa Maria.

Unalienable Rights · Dec 4, 2021

Continuing copied comments:

@sk716 : 70 is a crazy number. Kern Co has issues.

@Filly :
Although I know nada about Kern County? I hit a link on one of the girls and saw 70!

My post kept repeating 70? Seventy?

Something seems way wrong.

@Ducky123 : I just wanted to throw out that Bakersfield is definitely not a small town and Kern County as a whole can have pretty rough stats as far as percentage living below the poverty line, crime, unemployment. It is not super surprising to me, the number of missing teens. I’m not denying that the cases might be connected (trafficking is not out of the realm given economic prospects here), but I would also not be surprised if all the cases are unrelated runaway type situations. IMO.

@Hexe : What is worrying here it's how rapidly that number grew in last few months. That's something that should be carefully examined, not brushed away as a result of the overall economical situation. High rates of unemployment and poverty create perfect conditions for the criminals that prey upon young and vulnerable people.

Unalienable Rights · Dec 4, 2021

Still continuing copied comments:

@Ducky123 : I haven’t looked into the stats, but is it a sharp increase? Or is has it been a consistent trend over the last few years?

@Hexe : It is a sharp increase. Till this time most of teens that went missing were found safe and now, from April there is a sudden spike in cases of teens (14-17), mostly girls, mostly POC, without previous history of running away from home, that go missing and haven't been located. Something's rotten in the Kingdom of Danemark.

@sk716 : It looks like a pattern. There are geographic pairs. It's hard to not jump to conclusions.

@Hexe :
There are also pairs of children that got missing the same day.
February 22 - Bralynne Thomas (16) and Aliceson Dye (21). Aliceson is adult, but she is very short, just 5'1, so she could easily had been confused with a teen. She was also seen last at the intersection of Mosacco St and Rosedale Hwy, one mile from Marilee Ave, where Bralynne Thomas was last seen.
March 23 - Layla Romo(16), Angelina Catalan (15)
April 20 - Mia Martinez (13) (went missing from Townsley Ave, 1.7 mile from A Street, where Melainie was last seen) and Blanca Sanchez (35). Like Aliceson Blanca is adult (35), she's 5'0 though and quite youthful looking so again in a haste might be confused with a teen.
October 30 - Jahiem Reece (16) and Saige West (16). Saige went missing from Gosford Rd, slightly over a mile from the spot Abrahlyn Amador was last seen in (Worrell Court).
November 9 - Abrahlyn Amador (16) and Aniyah Lee (16). Aniyah was last seen on Vine Drive, roughly a mile (AGAIN!) from Townsley Ave, where Mia Martinez was seen.

Then we have:

- Belinda Gonzales - Granados (13), went missing February 15, from Claire Street, roughly two miles from the spot Jahime was last seen in.
- Serenity Barclay (17), vanished on June 14, from Versailles Dr, roughly two and a half miles from the spot Abrahlyn was last seen in.
- Brooke Sigrest (17), went missing November 14.
- Melainie Marshall (14), went missing November 15.
- Violet Kache (16), went missing November 21, last seen on Haley Street, under a mile from Monterey Street, where Natalie Lafradez was last seen.
- Natalie Lafradez (5), gone on November 25.

None of the kids listed had any previous history of running away.

CA CA - Bakersfield - Missing Juveniles: Ongoing General Discussion

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