I found this article from a month ago where I’m quoted in several places. I was doing several interviews at the time because of Kyron Horman. I talked to this interviewer for like an hour or something and had a lot of fun, then I promptly forgot the name of the publication, which is why I didn’t find the article till now.
Anyway, this article is about Jamie Mejia and Ubaldo Sanchez-Mejia, who went missing from Portland, Oregon just two weeks before Kyron Horman did. They didn’t get any media attention because they were family abduction kids, taken by their mom. The article talks about the problems with getting the news to run stories on family abduction and runaway cases and also missing kids that are from minority and/or immigrant populations.
Meaghan Good of the Charley Project, an online compilation of missing persons from around the country, said that cases where it’s presumed that a family member abducted a child get far less attention.
“It’s sad,” said Good, who explained that people assume that because children are with family members they are safe, which is far from true.
[…]
Good said that they aren’t given as much attention because it’s assumed the person ran on their own free will, when runaways may be running towards dangerous situations.
Good added that missing children cases involving white people tend to get more attention.
“White kids tend to get more attention; let’s face it,” she said.
[…]
Good said that missing children in immigrant communities is actually a “fairly huge” problem, but don’t get much attention because the cases often involve children being moved across borders. These make for complicated stories that the media is reluctant to follow, if they are aware of them at all, she said.
[…]
Good said that more attention is also given to families with a higher social status.
Good points to a case late last year that involved Viola Brown Martin, the mother of Angela Martin, a contestant on the television show American Idol. The case got national attention, but had it not had the connection to the popular television show, it’s unclear how it would have been handled.
I must remember to send this to my mom. She’ll probably print it out and put it in a scrapbook or something.
The Charley Project Blog 
….good for you! Your hard work is paying off…you deserve the attention!
Yeah im sorry but no hispanic missing children NEVER get media attention. Even when they are abducted which seems to happen to alot of young hispanic females in their early teens. Whereas when a white girl gets abducted it goes everywhere.
Great article Meaghann! It’s great that you’re getting this information out there. I’ve watched the news more than once and pointed out that 99% of the children missing were white when there have to be kids of other races going missing as well. The more information that gets out there, even just a little and to a few people, the better.
I think Jamie and Ubaldo are not getting any media attention because Portland Police Dept. is refusing to give out any info. on them. In one newspaper article PPD was quoted as saying they couldn’t give out any info because Oregon Dept of Human Svcs was involved. DHS could be involved as a guardian ad litem? Or, their Child Protective Svcs. dept. could be involved with suspicion of abuse/neglect.
I tried to get several MSM reporters to follow up. No luck. Scarey thing is, that their mom, Elsy, can be traced through address locators as having some relation to Rudy Sanchez–the landscaper involved in the sting on June 26 at the Horman home.
These kids may be endangered. And if Rudy or some of his employees or family are involved with the disappearance of both Kyron and the 2 Mejia-Sanchez kids….