MINOR CHILD - 15 yo - Burlington Cty/Mt Laurel NJ

MOUNT LAUREL — Authorities in Burlington County are searching for a 15-year-old girl who has been missing since Thursday night.

*Minor Child*, who resides in the Stonegate section of Mount
Laurel, was last seen at her home at about 10 p.m., according to Mount
Laurel police.

The teen is considered an endangered person because of pre-existing medical issues, the police department said.

They would not elaborate on the medical issues.


*Minor Child* is white, about 5-foot-4, with blue eyes and red/auburn hair, and weighs 150 pounds.

Investigators are asking anyone who might know her whereabouts to contact the Mount Laurel Police Department at (856) 234-8300.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/missing_girl_from_mount_laurel.html

*Minor Child* is missing from the Stonegate area of Mount Laurel, New Jersey. The teenager has not been seen in over 24 hours. Her family
last saw her at home in a condominium on Elbo Lane. This underage teen
is out on her own in an unknown location. That is a dangerous situation.Authorities
have not yet indicated if
*Minor Child* left home on her own or if a criminal
investigation is underway. The police in Burlington County are trying to
locate Ciara Scheets and then find out why she left her residence. It
is the start of a holiday weekend, so things are more chaotic than usual.
This could make it more difficult to track where
*Minor Child*s has been since she left her home.
Notify Police If You See
*Minor Child*
who is white with red hair that is past her shoulders in length. She is
5'4'' in height and weighs about 150 pounds. She has blue eyes. If you
see her, notify the Mount Laurel police by calling 856-234-8300.
In Medical Danger
Ciara has a medical condition that places her in danger. Authorities note
that her disappearance makes her an "endangered person" due to the
medical condition.Her family has not disclosed specific
information about the disorder. However, it is urgent that Ciara be
found so her medical condition can be monitored and any regular
treatment can continue.
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979543616

MOUNT LAUREL — The township teen that went missing Thursday
night was found in good condition in Philadelphia on Sunday, according to police.

Ciara Nicole Scheets, 15, was returned to her parents unharmed.

Police said she ran away from home and did not release further
details.Posts on the Facebook page "Prayers for Ciara Scheets," which
was created about 24 hours after her disappearance, indicate that
the teen was found sometime in the late afternoon Sunday.
The page had garnered more than 1,800 followers by Sunday
evening.Scheets went missing about 10 p.m. Thursday and was last seen at
her home in the Stonegate condominium complex off Elbo Lane.
Authorities were concerned for her well being because she was
"considered an endangered person due to a pre-existing medical
condition," they said.Police would not elaborate.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/missing-mount-laurel-teen-found-safe-in-philadelphia/article_4325f23c-9ba3-5109-9f02-bb42551e3b8a.html

Alas, history cannot be rewritten. How wonderful that this child was found safe.

I'm removing the name. The commentary that follows does not pertain to the above story, this just happened to be the first message in my box, and I was preparing a rather lengthy post absence, which happens to pertain to this issue....so....

Despite a monumental effort exerted by a handful of people in Oklahoma, I'm still alive, and have learned a thing or two. The children are the victims, they deserve our protection. Victim-blaming is rampant in this country, sometimes well-meaning people do it without even realizing they are doing it. I have done it, even as a victim myself, without realizing it. I apologize, and am taking corrective action immediately. I'm removing minor's names upon request, unless the publishing of the name is helpful.

Where possible, we are going to publish the perp's or perpetrators names, and pictures, UNLESS domestic abuse is an issue. The shame belongs to the abuser, not their targets.

It's a sad state of affairs when we have to enact laws to protect people, often victims, who report wrong-doing, instead of punishing the people who are actually COMMITTING the crimes. (Whistle-blower laws)

On a macro-level, we have a nation rife with greed and corruption, where nobody is allowed topursue life, liberty, or happiness. On a micro-level we have the following hypothetical, yet all too common, scenario:

I shouldn't have to preface this with a disclaimer concerning gender, so I'm not going to...

A man comes home late, his partner asks where he's been? He explodes in anger, launches into a tirade about how she's "always giving him the third-degree," and she in turn, tries to explain she was just asking because...but it doesn't matter what she says or does, an abuser will invent excuses for their behavior, it's never their fault. He hits her, and tries to hit her again, but she shields her face, or God forbid, attempts to push him away. She yells to one of the kids to call 911, which enrages him further.

The cops come, and take them BOTH to jail, and the children are taken into DHS custody. In Oklahoma, women are taken to jail and even imprisoned for being the victims of a crime. The children, are now twice victimized, once by the abuser, and secondly by a system that is supposed to protect them.

The "Failure to Protect" charge is an utterly outrageous practice in Oklahoma that is keeping our for-profit prisons full of women.

Oklahoma has to pay a fine for occupancy below 95% or some such nonsense, so obviously there is a motivation to maintain full-occupancy. If children are present in the home and an abuser beats her to a pulp, even if she ends up unconscious or in the hospital, she can be charged with "failure to protect," and be sent to prison. She can serve more time than the perpetrator.

The children go into DHS custody. In Oklahoma.

More on that later.

The message is the same. Don't tell.

The "Don't Tell" system in place is only advantageous to the abusers, and simply isn't sustainable - as evidenced by the comprehensive, rapid decline of Oklahoma as a state.

We can do better, for our children and for ourselves.

Stay tuned...







I've stayed silent for far too long, mainly out of fear for my own safety and the safety of my children, but turns out, that's exactly what psychopaths count on....and the very thing that allows them to perpetrate their crimes.

It's time to start telling....because the state of my state, and the state of the country can no longer sustain this level of dysfunction. It is hurting EVERYONE, most especially our children.