(The podcast content may contain sensitive topics. Listenerdiscretion is advised.)

Every day in America, kids disappear and for too many ofthem, the danger begins the moment they walk out the door. Missing and runaway minors are among the highest at risk victims of sex trafficking, and the numbers are staggering.NCMEC reports that 1 in 7 missing children they handle are likely victims of trafficking. And among all child trafficking victims, 86% are girls.

Here’s the part most people never hear: One out of six kidswho go missing will be victims of trafficking within the first 48 hours. Why? Because they’re alone, scared, and trying to survive and predators know exactly how to exploit that vulnerability.

On this episode of the Protect & Prevent Podcast (P3Kids), Opal Singleton Hendershot of MillionKids.org, one of the leading voices in keeping kids safe from predators, examines the connection between missing minors and being sex trafficked.

Just this past month, Riverside County authorities rescuedtwo girls, just 14 and 15 years old, during an operation focused on endangered and missing children. They were found with a man in Los Angeles with a history of pimping and pandering. He was arrested on Figueroa Street, aka the “blade”,and if found guilty faces 10 years to life in federal prison.

For fifteen years, Million Kids has been fighting on thefront lines through the Million Kids Missing Kids program. We have sent out hundreds of thousands of flyers, supporting law enforcement, and helping families bring their children home. If you want to receive missing‑kids alerts and be part of thateffort, visit MillionKids.org and sign up for the newsletter.

And parents, the most important thing you can do is talkwith your teens. Help them navigate conflict, help them feel seen, and make sure they know to never get into a car with someone they met online. That one decision can save a life.

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