Missing vs runaway: Case hits close to home in Columbus
"Children don't want to listen to their parents."
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The FBI reports almost half a million children go missing each year in the US.
A 2023 study states over a million children run away from home annually.
There is a difference in the two types of cases.
In Mississippi, a child can be charged with running away from home.
Anyone knowingly allowing the child to stay with them can be charged with harboring a runaway.
“Children don’t want to listen to their parents.”
16-year-old Franchesca McCaa was first reported to WCBI as a missing teen.
The Columbus Police Department now confirms McCaa is a runaway teen.
A missing person has an unexplained disappearance.
A runaway has left on their own accord and does not want to be found.
“It’s nothing new but now we’re living in a time that’s dangerous, especially for a 16-year-old girl to be on the streets. And her safety is our main concern.”
Although Franchesca reached out to her mother and explained she does not want to come home.
The teen’s mother believes her daughter isn’t safe on her own.
“Fighting. That’s all I see on social media is her fighting.”
After receiving threats from people who say they will harm Franchesca, she hopes the community can step up and report any sighting of her daughter to Columbus police.
“Please. I know you all can hear me. Please can somebody get my daughter before something else happens? It outta control. It’s really gotten out of control. I’ve been getting threatening messages from other kids talking bout what they are going to do to her and it got to end. It got to end.”
“Fran come to my house, I’m going to use a weapon on her.”- anonymous
