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Families Living a 'Nightmare' Plead for Help in Finding Missing Loved Ones · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to this deep dive.
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  Speaker 2: You've brought us some news articles today, and they're all
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  about missing persons cases, but more specifically kind of looking
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  at how these cases are handled, how they're publicized, absolutely,
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  and looking for disparities basically in those things.
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  Speaker 3: It's a tough reality for a lot of families out there, there,
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  really is.
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  Speaker 1: You know.
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  Speaker 3: You see certain cases and they just absolutely dominate the headlines,
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  and then others just seem to vanish from the public eye. Yeah,
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  almost as quickly as they.
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  Speaker 2: Appeared, right, And it makes you wonder, you know, is
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  that just the way the news cycle works or is
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  there something more there?
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  Speaker 3: Well, and that's what we're here to kind of unpack, right, right,
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  Is there a pattern here with these specific cases you've
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  shared and what can they tell us?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, about the bigger picture?
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  Speaker 2: And we're introduced right away to several families and.
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  Speaker 1: Their stories are just heartbreaking.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: You know, you have David Robinson.
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  Speaker 2: Whose son Daniel went missing in twenty twenty one, and
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  I mean, imagine uprooting your entire life. I mean, he
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  moved from South Carolina to Arizona is to be closer
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  to the.
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  Speaker 3: Last place his son was seen. Oh wow, And he's
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  dedicated his.
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  Speaker 2: Life the finding answers, and.
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  Speaker 3: That's where this whole idea of unequal searches become so
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  apparent and so disturbing. Frankly, the article you shared contrasts
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  his experience with the search for Killie Rodney, who is
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  a white teenager who disappeared around the same time. Both
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  cases obviously tragic losses, but the difference in the public
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  attention they received. Yes, the law enforcement resources, the media.
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  Speaker 2: Coverage, it's stackering.
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  Speaker 3: It really makes you wonder what leads to one case
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  captivating the nation and another one just struggling.
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  Speaker 1: To even be heard.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's a question that haunts so many families. Absolutely,
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  and it's not just about the resources. It's about feeling
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  seen than heard. Absolutely, like your case matters.
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  Speaker 2: It's about feeling like your loved one masters their life matters.
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  And we see this in Jelawny Day's case. He was
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  an Illinois graduate student.
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  Speaker 3: Who disappeared and tragically his body was later found, But
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  even a year later, his mother, Carmen, is still searching
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  for answers. She's pushing for a more thorough investigation. She
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  believes that police mishandled evidence, and that's got to be just.
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  Speaker 2: An awful feeling, of course, to not.
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  Speaker 3: Know, to feel like the full truth is still.
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  Speaker 2: Out there, and it's something no family should have to
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  endure on top of already such a tragic loss, and
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  it seems like finding a missing person.
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  Speaker 1: While it brings some closure.
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  Speaker 2: It also kind of marks the beginning.
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  Speaker 3: Of another even more difficult journey for these families. It
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  does in a way that need for truth for justice. Absolutely,
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  it doesn't just fade away, and often they're met with resistance.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, Unfortunately, when they continue to push those answers.
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  Speaker 3: It's like they're being pre victim in a way exactly.
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  And that struggle for recognition, that struggle for just being
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  taken seriously, it appears again and again in these articles.
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  Speaker 2: It does. Alania Lnoir's case, for instance, a young woman
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  from Atlanta, right. Her parents suspected foul play right away,
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  but they felt like the police were slow to respond.
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  Speaker 3: Initially classifying her case as a runaway.
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  Speaker 2: And that's very common. Unfortunately. Yeah, that label runaway can
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  be incredibly damaging, right, even if it's later proven to
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  be inaccurate, it often leads to a lower sense of
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  urgency from law enforcement, fewer resources dedicated to the investigation
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  and even biases and how the case is perceived by
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  the public and for families, those crucial early days are
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  absolutely everything, and that label can mean the difference between
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  finding their loved one quickly and the case going cold.
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  Speaker 1: And it seems like that happens.
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  Speaker 2: Disproportionately to people of color. It does, and so we're
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  going to.
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  Speaker 3: Look into that a little bit, Yeah, a few minutes.
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  It's a gut wrenching pattern, isn't it.
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  Speaker 1: It is the.
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  Speaker 3: Sense of being dismissed, Yeah, of having to almost fight
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  tooth and nail to.
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  Speaker 2: Heard by the very people who are supposed to help.
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  Speaker 4: And it makes you wonder, you know, is it just
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  these individual cases or is.
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  Speaker 2: There something larger at play here?
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  Speaker 3: Well, and that's why I think it's so important that
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  we look at what organizations like the Black and Missing
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  Foundation are doing. They've been tracking these disparities for years
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  and the numbers are really hard to ignore.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and they point out.
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  Speaker 3: That in twenty twenty one, black individuals were disproportionately represented
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  in missing persons reports compared to their percentage of the population. Absolutely,
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  and that's just one year we're.
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  Speaker 2: Talking about, right, And this is a trend that we
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  see year after year, year after year. So it's not
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  just a feeling. No, it's backed up by data, it is.
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  And if that one.
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  Speaker 3: Ano, they also point out the cases involving people of color, yes,
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  remain unsolved for.
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  Speaker 2: An average of four times longer.
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  Speaker 3: It's staggering four times. That's not a small margin of error. No,
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  that's a chasm. It is, And it makes you think
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  about the families, of course, who are left behind, absolutely
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  the loved ones. What does that do to their hope,
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  to their ability to cope.
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  Speaker 2: It's unimaginable a function, it really is. I mean, it's
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  no wonder that so many feel compelled.
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  Speaker 4: To become their own investigators, shouldering this immense burden of
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  searching for answers, yes, when they have very little resources support.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and we see this in Thaipin's Jenkins story. Her husband,
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  Lopez Richardson, disappeared in Texas, right, and she came face
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  to face with that same wall of indifference. Yeah, that
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  same feeling that her concerns weren't being taken seriously. Right,
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  And so now she's left raising.
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  Speaker 3: Their daughter alone, clinging to this hope of finding him
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  with very little help from the authorities.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it speaks volumes.
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  Speaker 2: I think about strict these families resilience, the resilience, yeah,
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  but it also I think lays bare a.
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  Speaker 3: Very deep I agree systemic injustice absolutely, that no one
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  should have to fight this hard for answers for justice.
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  It's simply unacceptable for their loved one.
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  Speaker 1: It is.
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  Speaker 2: It's heavy stuff, it is, there's no doubt about it. No,
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  these stories really stay with you.
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  Speaker 1: They do.
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  Speaker 3: But amidst all of this weight, yeah, all the heartbreak, the.
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  Speaker 2: Frustration, there have to be some glimmers of hope out there, right.
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  There are people working to change things, Yeah, to bring
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  these disparities to light. Absolutely, and it seems like we
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  are seeing some positive shifts. I think so the Black
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  and Missing Foundation, for instance, they were featured in an
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  HBO series they were, which I'm sure you know.
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  Speaker 1: Helped reach a wider audience.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, expose more people to this.
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  Speaker 3: Issue, for sure, and that's got to be.
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  Speaker 2: A good thing, right, Oh, absolutely, because more people aware
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  visibility is key, means more pressure for change.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely.
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  Speaker 3: And you know, we are seeing more police departments now
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  reaching out to organizations like the Black and Missing Foundation
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  for guidance looking to improve their policies and training.
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  Speaker 2: So they are becoming, when it comes to missing persons cases,
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  more aware of these disparities and trying to I guess
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  address those a step in the right direction.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, and it makes you realize how crucial media representation
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  really is.
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  Speaker 2: It is in all of this. You know, these stories,
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  these families, they need a platform, they need a chance
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  to be heard. They deserve to be heard, to have
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  their experiences validated, absolutely amplify.
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  Speaker 3: And we can't forget. You know, behind the statistics, behind
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  these headlines, behind the numbers, are real people with real stories,
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  living through living through unimaginable.
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  Speaker 2: Pain, unimaginable pain. And I keep thinking about David Robinson
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  still out there searching the Arizona Desert for his son.
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  Speaker 3: That unwavering dedication is remarkable.
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  Speaker 1: It's awe inspiring. Is that love?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, that refuses to be extinguished. It's just a stark
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  reminder of what's at stake, of.
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  Speaker 2: What every family is going through facing these circumstances.
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  Speaker 3: And in every single one of these cases, every single one,
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  it really makes you think, what, even as individuals right
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  to even make a small difference.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, what can we do?
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  Speaker 1: I mean, obviously, awareness is huge.
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  Speaker 2: Awareness is key.
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  Speaker 3: Share these stories, talk about them, but keep the conversation going.
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  Speaker 2: Don't let these stories be silenced exactly. You know, support
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  organizations like the Black and Missing Foundation who are on
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  the ground doing the work day in and day out. Yeah,
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  you know, even just being more aware of missing persons
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  cases in your own community, in our own communities, could
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  make a world of difference.
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  Speaker 1: Because everyone deserves to be found.
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  Speaker 2: They do.
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  Speaker 3: Every family deserves.
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  Speaker 2: Answers, every singbol every.
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  Speaker 3: Missing person has a story they do, and those stories
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  deserve to be told and heard and heard.
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  Speaker 2: And maybe, just maybe.
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  Speaker 3: By shedding light on these injustices, yeah, by demanding better,
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  by refusing to let these cases be forgotten, we can
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  start to create a world, hopefully where every missing person
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  is searched for with the same urgency, with the same resources.
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  Speaker 2: The same resources, the same unwavering commitment. Happens regardless of
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  their race, yes, their background.
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  Speaker 1: The circumstances of their disappearance.
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  Speaker 2: It's the least we can do.
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  Speaker 1: That's something worth striving for.