When Rashawn Williams went missing it took four days for his case to be investigated even though he was reported missing an hour after he wandered away from his caregivers. The 31-year-old has down syndrome and is nonverbal. Still no alert was ever issued. Rashawn was lucky he survived six days without food and water and was reunited with his family. (Listen to Rashawn's story here) That miracle inspired his family to push the state of Maryland to create a law enacting purple alerts which protect people with cognitive impairments that often are not covered by other alerts. Our experts weigh-in on why there should be a national purple alert law.

On October 20, 2023, Rashawn Williams wandered away from his caregivers in Silver Spring, Maryland, and disappeared. For six days his family was in anguish. Police were notified, but no alerts were ever released because Rashawn is a 31-year-old man with Down Syndrome and did not meet the criteria for any alert. In this episode of "Untold Stories: Black and Missing," we'll hear Rashawn's heartbreaking story and the actions his parents have taken to ensure this never happens to another family.

"Untold Stories: Black and Missing" is a podcast that tells the stories of missing people of color—how our cases fell through the cracks, and how we can raise awareness to bring them back home or provide answers for families desperately searching for their missing loved ones.

In Season 2, we delve into the issues that cause so many of our loved ones to go missing, including domestic violence, cognitive impairment, human trafficking and mental illness. We will also speak with experts about how we can best protect our families, and what we can all do to #HelpUsFindUs.

Recorded live at CrimeCon 2023, the season finale of Untold Stories: Black and Missing, delves into Carlee Russell's fake disappearance; why the initial news of her disappearance went viral and if it will have an impact on true missing person cases involving people of color. The panel discussion includes Josh Mankiewicz of NBC Dateline. Russell made national headlines in July when she disappeared after calling 911 to report seeing a toddler walking alone on an Alabama highway. When officers arrived they found her vehicle still running, but there was no trace of her or the child. Two days later, she returned home claiming that she had been kidnapped. However, an investigation revealed her story had holes in it, and on July 24th, her lawyer acknowledged she had made the whole abduction story up and that she acted alone.

Tanesha Howard last spoke to her daughter, Joniah Walker, right before 11 am on June 23, 2022. The 15-year-old was walking their dog while the two talked. The apartment complex cameras captured the moment on video. A while later those same cameras caught Joniah rushing from the building. That was the last anyone has seen of her. Where was she going in such a hurry? Who was she meeting? Do you know where Joniah Walker is?

From captive to conqueror: Dr. Tonya Stafford's journey from teen sex trafficking victim to working with homeland security to save others is a candid look at a growing epidemic in our own backyard. After spending a decade in captivity, she's sharing her story as a wake-up call about what it's like to be hidden in plain sight, and how to protect your family. This is the second in a 2-part series on sex trafficking.

Wayne and Stacy Flagg were doing everything they could think of to keep their 14-year-old daughter safe from online predators. Their daughter did not have a cell phone. They monitored her online activity and limited her time on the computer. Still, on May 15, 2021, Kyla told her dad she loved him then left the house to meet a man she met while gaming online.

That started what Wayne and Stacy say was the worst 39 days of their lives. What they did not know was the man had spent time grooming Kyla, telling her a fairy tale and making promises he did not keep.

Kyla's story is part of a two-part series on sex trafficking. This is information parents need to know.

Where is Nakyla Williams? Doorbell camera footage captured her getting into a light-colored pickup truck on November 8, 2021. That image is the last her family and friends have seen of her. Investigators believe she may have gone to Flint, Michigan, with the man driving the truck. Since she disappeared, there has been no activity on her social media accounts or her bank accounts.

The investigation has stalled, and the family is hoping someone listening will provide information that will help bring Nakyla home. Is this a case of sex trafficking? Investigators need more information to determine that. A private investigator is now on the case and has helped open new lines of investigation.

You could hold the key to this case. Help us find us.

The murder of Nicole Fitts left a lot of unanswered questions. The most important one for her family is, where is Nicole's daughter, Arianna? Arianna was 2 and a half when her mother was killed, and she went missing without a trace. While tips continue to come in, none have led to bringing Arianna home or solving her mother's murder.

Right before Nicole's murder, things had started turning around for her. She had been homeless for a while but had finally found permanent housing for herself and her daughter. She had a job at Best Buy and worked extra shifts to get ahead. She had also developed a support system of family and friends.

On April 8, 2016, a maintenance worker found Nicole's body in a shallow grave at a park near where she was living. She had been missing for about a week. Arianna had been living with babysitters while Nicole secured permanent housing. But when police looked for Arianna there, she was no where to be found.

You could hold the key to solving this mystery and bringing Arianna home.

Who abandons their truck at a stoplight, with the engine running and their wallet still inside the cab? Why would an openly gay black man do that in a small, conservative Texas town? Friends and family of Eodis Tre Harris say there is no way he would do that, but the Stonewall County Sheriff's Department says a witness saw a black man leap from the truck and run with two dogs in tow to a field across the road. Investigators never found that man and no one has heard from Tre Harris either.

Little did Corlitta Johnson know that when she got off the phone with her son around 3:00 AM on June 15, 2021, that she would never speak with him again. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Law enforcement did not have any answers. Corlitta asked the Texas Rangers to join the Stonewall County Sheriff's investigation, all the while she was doing her own sleuthing. Searches around the small town of Aspermont, Texas, turned up nothing. Corlitta persisted and after searching Tre's laptop she found his Facebook password had been changed on August 3, nearly two months after he was last seen and that it was done from an IP address in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Nothing in this case makes sense, Corlitta told the Black and Missing Foundation when she reached out nearly 6 months into the search for her son. Tre's truck was found in Aspermont on June 16, 2021 his luggage was found neatly placed on the side of the road in Paducah, Texas, and his phone last pinged June 17, 2021, near a self-storage business in the Quanah, Texas area. Three dots on a map, almost a circle. Three small towns friends and family say Tre would avoid at all costs.

We need your help to solve this mystery. Help us find us!