Activists in Gwinnett County are calling for more diligent policing when it comes to missing Hispanic kids.
This comes after the recent arrest of a since-fired Doraville police officer who was charged with the kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Susana Morales from Gwinnett County more than six months after she was reported missing.
Initially, police labeled Morales as a runaway and said there was no indication she was held against her will. Then in February, investigators found Morales’ skeletal remains more than 20 miles from where she was last seen, as well as a personal handgun of the ex-police officer, Miles Bryant, who was arrested at Gwinnett’s police headquarters one week later.
Bryant, 22, is being held at the Gwinnett County Jail without bond. He also faces a first-degree burglary charge concerning the alleged stalking of another woman in Snellville in 2019. He was fired from the Doraville Police Department shortly after his arrest.
Gwinnett Police Chief J.D. McClure said Morales was walking home from a friend’s house when she went missing on the evening of July 26. He said by the time her family reported her missing the following morning; she was likely already dead.
“When you have an event like this happen — a tragic loss of a young, beautiful girl at the hands of a law enforcement officer — there’s no doubt that some of that trust is going to be broken,” McClure said. “However, the challenge for us and the law enforcement community as a whole is to continue to build those relationships and build those contacts.”
The investigation is ongoing.
Melissa Marrero is the co-founder of the Hispanics United Alliance for the Missing. She said the organization was founded after a second missing teen from Gwinnett County, Rodrigo Floriano Mayan, was found dead from an overdose. Mayan and Morales attended the same high school, but authorities say their cases are not connected.
“It takes a whole community to get through certain situations,” Marrero said. “What does it take for our kids to not be called runaways? … We just want our community to be treated equally. Go look for our kids, too.”
According to the Gwinnett County Police Department, a person, regardless of age, may be reported missing immediately or at any time. A juvenile who has not been listed missing and has not returned home in 24 hours will be reported for administrative purposes as a runaway through the Georgia Crime Information Center.
A Levi’s Call, also called an Amber Alert in some states, is used only in cases with confirmed abduction. They are requested through the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and it is at their discretion to approve or deny the request.
Gwinnett Police spokesperson J.R. Richter said the department receives about 40 missing juvenile reports per month, but the data is not organized by race, and she couldn’t say how many are Latino or Hispanic kids. In fact, these numbers are difficult to come by because there does not appear to be an umbrella organization specifically focused on missing Hispanic youth and adults.
Hispanics are often counted with white women and youth in data sets.
Last year, the Gwinnett County Police Department received just under 400 runaway reports. While there are no statistics on the average time it takes to close a missing persons case, Richter said all are investigated and treated the same. A vast majority return on their own.
For Marrero, that’s not enough.
“What happens to that percentage that doesn’t come back home?” Marrero said.
The Gwinnett County Police Department is holding a Q&A on its handling of missing persons cases at Universal Church in Norcross on March 9.
