But, Banks said, “I just put pressure on them.” With the help of an attorney, the bank asked authorities to issue an Ebony Alert, California's new notification system for informing the public about missing young black men.
Two hours after Ebony issued the alert, officers pinged the teen's phone, allowing them to geolocate the device. An hour later, Lelah was reunited with her mother, who credits surveillance with saving the teenager's life, despite the long process.
“I don’t know how I would have found him,” Banks said.
The alert was issued in response to an unusually high number of black children reported missing or abducted in California. A year after the system was approved by state lawmakers, Ebony Alerts have been deployed 31 times, resulting in 27 recoveries, according to the California Highway Patrol, which ultimately issued the alert. Missing persons advocates like Jasmine Lee, CEO of the Doc Ellis Foundation, say it is a powerful tool, but they also worry that it is not sufficiently implemented and that local law enforcement officials are not adequately trained to use it.
“I’ve seen it work, but… where is the ongoing training for law enforcement to make sure they understand what to do?” Lee said. He said he helped a dozen families, including Banks, claim Ebony Alerts for their missing children.
An LAPD spokesperson told NBC News that an Ebony Alert was issued in Lelah's case when it was deemed necessary.
“LAPD officers take all necessary actions based on currently available information to locate missing persons,” an LAPD statement read in part. “In this case, the phone tracking and issuance of the alert were conducted through standard investigative procedures, and the timing depended on the evolving factors of the investigation.”
It turns out that Lelah was two miles from home, in front of a homeless shelter in Skid Row, a part of Los Angeles that has become synonymous with crime, homelessness and poverty. He said he was suddenly overcome by loneliness and depression and left home in the early hours of July 6, walking until his feet hurt. He stayed at the shelter after lying about his age, but had to leave the next day. Months later, Lela is home and seeing a counselor.
What is an ebony alert and how does it work?
Signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and effective January 1, Ebony Alert is a resource for law enforcement agencies to help locate missing young Black men and women between the ages of 12 and 25. , which represent a large proportion of the state. and Missing persons in the country. At least 40% of missing children in the US in 2021 were black Black and Missing FoundationAlthough black youth make up just 16% of all children in the United States
Once a law enforcement agency is contacted, the California Highway Patrol works with them to determine if the criteria for an Ebony Alert are met. If you are unsure, the CHP will issue a caution alert. Once issued, an Ebony Alert notice with missing person information is posted on CHP social media pages and sent to phones within a certain geographic area. Similar to Amber Alerts, Ebony Alerts can be displayed on highway signs and billboards.
To qualify for an Ebony Alert, a missing person must be black, between the ages of 12 and 25, suffer from a mental or physical disability, and be missing under unexplained circumstances. On the other hand, an Amber Alert must confirm that a kidnapping has occurred. In Lela's case, her blood sugar is low.
Abney Alert in Action
State Sen. Steven Bradford, who first proposed the alert in the spring of last year, called the program's implementation a success so far, given current data.
“Often when Black children go missing, they are labeled as runaways,” he said. “So just looking at the facts, we thought it was very important that we move forward with legislation like this.”
However, youth advocates believe the current numbers only reflect part of the Ebony Alert story and do not take into account individuals who could have been the subject of an alert but were not.
According to state data “Missing and Unidentified Persons” According to an analysis by NBC News and the Doc Ellis Foundation, a nonprofit that provides education and resources to families of missing persons, at least 134 young black men under the age of 18 yearlings have gone missing in California this year as of September 20, all of which could qualify for an Ebony Alert, but only 31 warnings have been issued. This means that only 23% of those who would qualify for an alert actually benefited from it.
Lee of the Doc Ellis Foundation says the Ebony Alert saved lives, but so far it has the same flaws as the Amber Alert. While authorities determine whether to issue an alert, Lee said cases of missing young black men are often not treated with the same level of urgency.
“Here’s the thing: You can change the name, but if you have the same people approving it, we’ll end up in the same place,” Lee said.
Families of other missing victims Lee's organization has dealt with have similar frustrations with the Ebony alert process. Some even had to inform local police that the warning existed. So, Lee said, they often feel like they have to jump through several hoops to finally ship it.
That was the experience of Adrienne Hutchinson, whose 19-year-old daughter Sanai Singh went missing for three days in February. After contacting the police about her daughter's disappearance, Hutchinson worked with Doc Ellis to understand the Ebony Alert and pressured the police to issue one.
“The officers at the front desk said they didn’t know what the Ebony Alert was,” Hutchinson said. “I went to another police station and the same thing.”
The police “shut down everything” as if his daughter had run away “to prostitute herself or go to a lover’s house”.
Hutchinson said his family would hold a press conference after officers were informed that an alert had been sent out next Monday. It was issued three days after Singh, who has mental health problems and was unmedicated, first went missing. A few hours later, police pinged the teenager's phone and her location was identified. A family member — not police — went to rescue the teen, Hutchinson said.
Asked about the launch of the Ebony Alert and whether there are plans to improve training for law enforcement, a CHP spokesperson told NBC News that they will continue to work with investigators to determine if any cases meet the criteria for an Alert. Ebony.
“The CHP knows that when a person goes missing, time is of the essence,” said Jaime Coffey, CHP communications director. “When we are contacted by an investigative agency, our officers work with them to determine the appropriate course of action.”
Ebony warns the future
including other states Massachusetts, Ebony is considering adopting its own version of Alert.
While Lee is an advocate of the program, he believes it works best in conjunction with community organizations that can ensure that once a person is found, they have the resources to stay safe and not get lost again.
In the case of Banks and Hutchinson, the two dedicated mothers continued to search for their daughters and urged their community to come forward. But for others, who don't have the reach or knowledge for which Ebony Alert is a resource, Lee said, the results are often very different.
“They get the police report number,” she said. “They go into the database and that’s it.”
