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With more American women than ever experiencing the crime of kidnapping, Many people are repurchasing the May 5 holiday of Cinco de Mayo to focus on missing persons training.
For those who are concerned about violence against women, May 5 is known as a national day of awareness for missing and murdered women.
The catalyst for this day of atonement comes from a tragic case in Montana. Hanna Harris, a much-beloved 21-year-old mother with a 10-month-old baby, was found murdered after having gone missing for a few days.
Activists have begun to spread the word: May 5 is more than a day to remember people who have gone missing. It is a day to prevent more people from going missing. The way that they tell people to celebrate May 5 is by attending or hosting a missing persons training.
Missing persons training is usually a program that is done in conjunction with local law enforcement. During training, experts should inform people about how to prevent their loved ones from going missing.
Individuals from the community also share stories so that others can understand the warning signs before it happens.
Hanna Harris Came from an area in the United States with relatively low population rates when compared to other regions of the nation. This part of the country also suffers from understaffed law enforcement.
In this area of Montana, kidnappings and missing persons often go underreported for two reasons: People feel that law enforcement will not do anything about it, and there is often no trusted agency to report it to in these rural areas.
This makes missing persons training especially important for rural areas like Montana. People who live in these areas are encouraged to take May 5 especially seriously, as the potential for missing persons is much higher in these parts of the United States.
Creating more awareness around the subject is one thing, but training sessions that are appropriately hosted and attended will actually do something to spread knowledge about how to prevent situations in the future and give hope to people who are searching for missing loved ones currently.
