BELTON, Mo. — Belton police want you to be on the alert for a missing teenager, Quana Big Spring.
KSHB 41 I-Team reporter Sarah Plake profiled Big Spring's story in October.
The stories detailed how Quana has been missing twice before and how her case ties into the national crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP).
Big Spring is 17 years old, 5'4" and 125 pounds.
She was out for a walk about 7 p.m. on Oct. 30 near B Street and didn't come home.
Big Spring was last seen wearing a pink Nike hoodie, a gray backpack and black sneakers.
She has a history of mental health and medical needs, which has made her vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking in the past.
Plake talked to UMKC professor Misty Cambpell, who's in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, about how these vulnerabilities play into teenagers' decision making. It also makes them a perfect target for traffickers.
"Trafficking is always about an exploitation of a vulnerability and all of us have vulnerabilities," Campbell said. "So, if I'm a really skilled trafficker, I'm trying to figure out that vulnerability, I'm latching on to it, I'm meeting that need and that's how I'm keeping you connected and pulled in. And once I have you connected and pulled in, then all that harm starts compounding, which makes it hard to make a logical, rational decision."
Of course, Big Spring's family hopes this is not the case and that she'll come home soon on her own.
Big Spring may be in the Northeast neighborhood of Kansas City, Mo.
If you see her or know where she is, call Belton police at (816) 331-1500.
