Although African Americans make up just 13 percent of the U.S. population, we account for 33 percent of the missing in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s database. Cases involving African Americans also tend to receive less media coverage than missing Whites, with missing men of color getting even less attention.
NewsOne has partnered with the Black and Missing Foundation and TV One to focus on the crisis of missing African Americans.
To be a part of the solution, NewsOne will profile a missing person weekly and provide tips about how to keep your loved ones safe and what to do if someone goes missing, while TV One‘s newest show, “Find Our Missing,” hosted by award-winning actress S. Epatha Merkerson, tells these stories in visual form.
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St. Louis Police have confirmed that a body found inside the trunk of a white 2004 Mitsubishi Galant is that of Ebony Jackson, the 30-year-old mother whose young baby was found alone in the hallway of a St. Louis apartment building on January 4th.
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Jackson was traveling to St. Louis to introduce her new child to relatives when she went missing. The last family heard of her, Jackson said she was with a friend and the baby could be heard in the background.
But Jackson’s young baby was later found alone in the hallway of a St. Louis apartment building that Jackson had no known connection to.
Fox 4 News reports:
Jackson’s baby was found unharmed early Friday morning inside a Breckenridge Hills apartment complex. Jackson had not been heard from since last Thursday and it’s still not clear how her baby ended up inside the apartment complex. Jackson lived in Oklahoma but was visiting old friends in East St. Louis. Family members say she phoned a cousin who lives in St. John and left a message on his cell phone indicating she was going to visit him. She never arrived.
Jackson’s family has expressed their disapproval at the way the police handled the case, with one relative saying police wanted DNA evidence that Jackson was related to the baby before they would proceed with the case. Police were looking to question Jackson about the abandonment of the baby at one point, according to news reports.
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“They said they need DNA proof that Ebony is even related to the baby before they can proceed,” cousin Jatouris Simon told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “There was lots of pressure on them to figure out who the baby was, but they don’t care about the Mother.”
“It’s horrifying to the family when you have a loved one that you know in your heart just disappeared, and that a police department is treating a case this cavalierly,” added Linda Lawson, a family friend.
Police are unclear what happened to Jackson.
They have not revealed a cause of death. They obtained a warrant to activate the GPS on her car, but once they found the car, they needed a warrant to search the trunk where Jackson’s body was discovered. It’s unclear where she may have died or been killed. The St. Louis Police have taken over the homicide investigation.
Now family members want the public to help find out what happened to Jackson.
“There’s someone out there who knows something about who these soul-less, callous person or persons,’ said Lawson. “Please contact the police so they can know who did this.”
Meanwhile, Jackson’s baby is in state custody as authorities await DNA results from a man who says he is the child’s father.
Anyone with information regarding what happened to Ebony Jackson can contact the Black and Missing Foundation’s confidential Tip Line.
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