Two of more than a thousand missing children in Ohio: Iyahna Graham (17, left) and Gideon Hefner (14)

DLNews Missing Children:

More and more children are disappearing in the US state of Ohio – authorities and parents are worried!

So far, in 2023, more than 1,000 minors have been reported missing in northern Ohio. And: This month alone, more than 45 children are missing in the Cleveland area. According to the Ohio Attorney General's website, more than 35 minors were in August.

The disappearances of children represent a disturbing trend in northern Ohio that began in May when nearly 30 children disappeared in the first two weeks. At the time, authorities spoke of an “extraordinary increase” in child disappearances.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Monday that the number of missing children was alarming. "Yes, of course, we're concerned about it," he told News 5 Cleveland.

He added that data on runaway, kidnapping, and child trafficking cases is not always accurately recorded as the state struggles with police staffing shortages: "All of these things have localized problems in reporting, which in turn depend on local conditions,” says Yost.

John Major, head of the aid organization “Cleveland Missing,” also raised the alarm: “For some reason, we have many more children reported missing in 2023. "Which is troubling because we don't know, in part, what's happening to some of these kids - whether they're being trafficked or involved in gang activity," he told Fox News.

He said he had never seen such many missing children in his 33-year career.

Parents set up an aid organization.

Meanwhile, concerned parents have tried locating the missing children, including Breana Brown, who founded an organization to raise awareness of the missing children.

“I feel like we need to do more as a community,” she told News 5 Cleveland: “We need to make it a priority.”