CLEVELAND — You might have seen the widespread news headlines this week about a high number of children reported missing in Cleveland and across the state.
The story was even picked up by a number of international news outlets, like Britain's The Sun and Mirror newspapers.
Newburgh Heights Police Chief John Majoy saw them too, and spent the day Wednesday setting the record straight with national news outlets.
"I told them that I would not do the interview if they were going to use the words, 'vanished,' or 'disappeared,'" said Majoy.
Majoy serves as president of Cleveland Missing, a non-profit center for Cleveland missing children and adults that was co-founded by Gina DeJesus, who survived a decade-long captivity along with Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight.
3News asked Majoy whether there was any truth to the headlines.
"I don't want to accuse anyone of being untrue, but I think that [they] are being more sensationalized than what is needed," said Majoy, who fears that the reports are harmful by causing undue panic.
"They're really kind of putting Cleveland in a bad light, almost the missing children capital of the world or something," he said. "But you have to understand that in a population of 375,000 people, if you compare that to other cities, the number is not all that skewed as to other cities."
Majoy said he could not confirm the source and information in some of the news articles, many of which cite the Ohio Attorney General's Missing Children website and database.
The website lists children in Ohio who are currently reported missing. It's important to note that the number fluctuates hour by hour, as reporting agencies input new information.
Wednesday afternoon, 3News found 909 Ohio children listed as currently missing on the Attorney General's website, including children reported missing in previous years. One child still on the list has been reported missing since 1928.
"We do have missing individuals in the city of Cleveland, no question about it," said Cleveland Police Chief Wayne Drummond, in an interview with 3News last June.
This is the second time this year that authorities have tried to inject context into news and social media reports. Drummond first spoke out in June following a wave of similar attention-grabbing headlines. Though he acknowledged a 20-percent increase in the number of reports of missing children, he pointed out that a vast majority of children were safely returned.
Drummond said out of 1,072 children reported missing this year, 1,020 were safely returned.
"The vast majority that we encounter here in the city of Cleveland are runaways, and a large percentage of those numbers are habitual runaways," said Drummond last June, adding that one child missing is one too many.
After our report Wednesday evening, Drummond spoke exclusively to 3News to decry this week's sensationalized media reports that he called, "inaccurate."
According to Drummond, there are currently 65 juveniles missing in Cleveland, as of Wednesday evening, a far cry from 1,000. Among the 65 juveniles who are missing, 14 of them are considered endangered, whether due to their age, or the circumstances of their disappearance.
"It's important that we set the record straight. What's out there is inaccurate," Drummond said. "It's important that our citizens really check their sources, and make sure they are accurate," he urged.
"How harmful are sensationalized headlines?" we asked.
"It's extremely harmful. It's mainly harmful for the families of missing individuals and sometimes it hurts our investigation," said Drummond.
"And I just want everyone to know that we care deeply about finding missing children and adults and bringing them safely to their loved ones," he added.
More from 3News Investigates:
- 3News Investigates: School bus driver in Stark County rollover crash placed on leave; has multiple traffic violations on driving record
- 3News Investigates: Former Cleveland Judge Pinkey Carr sentenced for filing false court records
- 3News Investigates: As Lakewood apartment building continues without A/C, records show past financial trouble for managing company