NEW YORK – A teenage girl was reunited with her family hours after her story was aired on The View.
Sixteen year old Mishell Green had being missing for more than five months after failing to show up at an after school program in New York. Her case was taken up by the Black and Missing Foundation, or BAMFI, an organization (with which theGrio has a partnership) that focuses on missing African-Americans.
BAMFI’s president and CEO, Derrica Wilson, appeared on The View February 24th along with Green’s stepfather, Champell Dash, her biological father, Derrick, and her mother Janell Johnson Dash, where they were interviewed by co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Elizabeth Hasselbeck. The interview was part of a series of segments on missing black children.
Within 16 minutes of the segment, a viewer who recognized Green from her profile called BAMFI to report her whereabouts, according to the organization.
Green’s family released a statement, along with the producers of The View and Wilson of the Black and Missing Foundation. The Green family’s statement read:
“Mishell is safe and out of harm’s way. We thank all who lifted your hearts and voices in prayer, who posted reports, who told about her disappearance, who called us with suggestions and who were there.”
The family also thanked the New York City police for their prompt response in locating Mishell. No word of where she was found, or further information about her disappearance was immediately available.
Wilson in her statement emphasized the importance of media exposure in finding missing persons — exposure BAMFI contends is rarely afforded to missing African-Americans.
“This reunion proves how vital national media coverage is in finding missing persons,” Wilson’s statement read. “As an advocate for missing persons of color, it is our mission to help bridge the gap in the disparity of coverage of our missing persons. I thank ‘The View’ for allowing us to share Mishell’s story, and to the tipster who had the courage to call and report it.”
