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On Friday, Jan. 29, Chicopee Police reached out to the public for help finding Saray Ortiz, 16, who has been missing since Jan. 26.
Saray is the seventh missing girl reported in Chicopee since November.
Many of the children have since been found, but three are unaccounted for:
Saray, who is 5’1”, about 110 lbs., with brown eyes, and black, curly, shoulder-length hair. She was last seen wearing blue jeans and a black fleece coat in the Chicopee Falls area heading toward Springfield, police said.
Hayleigh Gonzalez, 14, who ran away on Tuesday, Jan. 5, was last seen in Springfield, police said.
Crystal Badillo, 15, ran away on Nov. 11 with an 11-year-old belonging to the same program for troubled teens. The 11-year-old has been located, Badillo has not. Badillo was last seen in the area of St. James Avenue in Springfield, police said.
Chicopee girls were also reported missing on Nov. 30 and Jan. 4, all three were eventually found. Police did not officially announce finding Mildred Perez, but she did appear to comment on her own missing notice on Facebook to assure people she was fine.
There are four main reasons why children run away from home, according to the National Run Away Safeline. Among the most common are living with unstable family dynamics like divorce or change in parenting; abuse and neglect; their own struggles with mental health, peer issues like fights, bullying, or isolation.
Females are far more likely to run away than males - making up 70 percent of children who run away. The most common age to run is 15-17.
If you see any of the missing girls or know anything about their whereabouts, contact Chicopee Police Detective Bureau at (413) 594-1740.
For people considering running away from home, the National Runaway SafeLinfe can offer services and guidance on how to best get out of a bad situation. The safe line is (800) RUNAWAY. 1800runaway.org/
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