♪ [ cheers and applause ] this is "nightline." >> tonight, black and missing. one woman's search. >> i still have hope that one day i'm going to find my child. >> chasing answers on her own. >> the case is dying for attention from the police and the press. trying to change the face of missing persons searches not making headlines. plus, rebel bella. the child star all grown up. bella thorne choosing to face life fearlessly. fighting a hacker on her own terms. >> why i leaked my own nudes. >> and unafraid to reveal secrets from her past. >> was it because i was molested my whole life? and -- ♪ it's a beautiful day in neighborhood ♪ mr. rogers returns.

the incredible transformation bringing america's favorite neighbor to your neighborhood theater. ♪ please won't you be my neighbor ♪ >> but first, the "nightline" 5.

good evening. thanks for joining us. you've probably never heard their names or seen their faces

on tv. they are the other missing children of america. black,ly ignored. even by law enforcement and the media. we followed families suffering heartache in pursuit of what they say is justice long overdue. here's abc's steve osunsami. >> it's very hard living day to day not knowing where your child is. >> reporter: paula hill hopes that someone who sees these photos will help bring her missing daughter home and help mend her broken heart. >> she's 8 over here. >> reporter: ten long years have passed since the young black girl in these precious memories disappeared without a trace. her name is shamika kozy. she vanished just a few days after christmas that year. >> on december the 28th, 2008, that was the last day that i seen her. >> you've come back to this neighborhood a number of times. >> yeah. >> reporter: her daughter was here just outside st. louis

watching movies with her cousins and wh everyone woke up the next morning and found she was gone. she was 16 years old, a door was unlocked, and police believed she ran away so they never searched for the girl. >> they're not doing anything because they think she's gone on her own. i don't know what to do. i didn't know who to turn to. >> shamika cozy's story was different in that she vanished without a trace. >> reporter: shaundrae thomas is a news reporter p eer who produa podcast documenting disappeared -- she says police in the press often dismiss black cases as runaways. >> it has been difficult to get some of these stories told when it comes to mission pieces of color, cold cases involving people of color. and i felt if i can do my part as far as having this podcast i can tell any story i want about whoever i want however i want for however long i want to.

>> reporter: at the center for missing and exploited children director robert lowry told us that roughly 800,000 americans go missing each year. what percentage of those are african-american or of color? >> about 60% of the reports that we see here in the u.s. that go into those data bases. >> reporter: more than half. >> well over half. it really breaks a lot of commonly held thought on who are really the missing children in the u.s. >> reporter: the numbers show that missing black americans are disproportionately represented. in 2018 more than 30% of all missing persons were black americans despite making up just 13% of the total u.s. population. but only around a fifth of those cases are followed by the news. frustrated with little help and even less attention, paula hill and her family went searching on her own. >> reporter: this idea she ran away, you don't believe that? >> no. do i believe she left her home with someone? yes. she was intending to come back.

they're gone for ten years. >> reporter: we are in front of the berkley police station. this is the police department that was investigating this case. we ended up sitting down with major art jackson, who is of course african-american, and defends the way police are handling the case. >> how come the police never did a search on this? >> there was no evidence to support a physical search. this is one of the hardest things to investigate, is a missing person. especially if a person is mi missing like i said, with no signs of anything, just voluntarily walks away. now, if a person is missing they've been kidnapped you're going to have signs of struggle you're going to have things to go by to help you put that piece of the puzzle together. so in reality sometimes law enforcement and sometimes media we're like hey, this person did it voluntarily. so that's on them. >> it is quite the mystery and -- >> reporter: there are dozens of missing persons cases that i've followed over the last few years where the effort on the ground

and on the airwaves was massive and hopeful. but all of these cases have one significant thing in common. the victims were white americans. i was one of the reporters covering 17-year-old kaitlyn fresina in 2017, who went missing in florida. at the same time 14-year-old yania jevon carter disappeared near atlanta. carter didn't get half the media attention. but luckily she was found alive. natalie and dereka wilson run a foundation that helps search for missing black and hispanic children. >> there are so many families of color who are desperately searching for their missing loved sxwurngs they are just asking for just one second or a couple of seconds of media kafrn coverage and it can change the narrative for them. >> we also understand that the decision makers don't look like us. and so these cases are not sensitive engho want to air it. >> reporter: we got more than an earful from this group of parents and loved ones of

missing black children in washington, d.c. they told us they'd take a fraction of the compassion and attention that went to the families of natalie holloway, elizabeth smart, lacey peterson, and so many others. >> when you see me as an african-american in this country out covering these cases over and over again of missing white children, it's depressing to you? >> yes. i know how many missing people of color who are missing. i say what we do is homework to talk about us. >> yeah. it pissed me off to see you reporting somebody's child other than mines. me and this person's child went missing around the same time, but i had to fight to get mines on local news and this person's on national news with their fbi overnight. >> exactly. >> i was like i'm tired and i'm frustrated and i'm pissed. >> reporter: they want america to take a greater interest in these names.

unique harris. christian muse. relisha rudd. keeshae jacobs. and terrence woods jr., who went missing last october. tell me if you each can tell me about your missing -- your loved ones. >> well, my daughter unique, i definitely miss her jovial attitude. she always could just walk in a room and brighten up the room, and she kept me laughing even when i didn't want to laugh. >> keeshae. she was 21 when she went missing. but she was still my baby. she's the one that we used to have movie nights and she'd lay up in the bed with me and we'd watch movies and eat popcorn. >> as a child, 8-year-old normal child, her laughter, her playfulness, she was very beautiful. >> i'll have dreams about christian, and in these dreams i'll be boo-hooing and crying in my dream, but then i'll wake one

that same feeling of sorrow and no physical tears are coming out. >> my son terrence, he was my best friend. this just recently happened. every christmas he would put up the christmas tree. so this christmas it was like really different. he was with 11 other people, but he's the only one that went missing without a physical trace. like she was just saying, it just hit me like a gut shot on tuesday nights he would sit in my room and we'd watch five together and watch a movie together. i don't even like walking down the hall going towards his room. nobody's really helping out. >> reporter: terrence woods jr. went missing last fall in the forests of oro grand, idaho where he was shooting a documentary. within a week police ended the search, saying no leads were obtained and no signs of mr. woods had been located in the

search area. they also say they're continuing to monitor the situation. his father says they've told him nothing since. >> i think a lot of people get the misunderstanding that we immediate immediately get help from the police department. that's not the case. >> reporter: but there's a small ray of hope shining on the horizon. at the national center for missing and exploited children they're bringing in representatives from local law enforcement and the news departments in the d.c. area to point these differences out. >> we've initiated a minority children initiative here to examine that very question. those large-scale searches in our experience have been predominantly for caucasian children. reasons that we don't always understand. >> reporter: as for the families, their voices filled with anger and frustration, they say they'll never stop looking. so a number of you have been dealing with this for years.

what advice do you give to this father who's four months in? >> i'm going to tell you straight up. don't give up. like you said, don't accept nothing nobody say. can't nobody tell you no. and you keep fighting till you can't fight no more. >> and remember, that's your child and nobody, and i mean nobody is going to fight for your child like you do. >> reporter: do you expect to get answers? >> oh, yeah. everything in my heart is telling me that keeshae is alive. but i believe she is coming home to me. >> terrence. >> my son is coming home. >> reporter: paula hill shares this determined optimism. she and her other two children have submitted dna samples to a national registry, praying for a match. >> and this is her and her big sister. >> reporter: and when she's down, she looks through these memories of the daughter she's

missing and finds her joy. >> i still have hope that one night i'm going to find my child. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm steve osunsami in washington. >> and of course if you have any information about shemika cosey or any of the other children in our story, please contact your local police. up next the former child star living life fiercely and fearlessly. bella thorne. with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's, your plans can change in minutes. your head wants to do one thing, but your gut says, "not today." if your current treatment isn't working, ask your doctor about entyvio. entyvio acts specifically in the gi tract to prevent an excess of white blood cells from entering and causing damaging inflammation. entyvio has helped many patients achieve long-term relief and remission. infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. entyvio may increase risk of infection, which can be serious.

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the young actress and singer bella thorne seemed to grow up

before our eyes. wi c lg er child star turned unapologetically. now revealing her painful struggles in jaw-dropping detail. moving forward while refusing to remain silent. >> i like sexy. i love skin. like i love seeing skin. i like -- like i like sexy. i like sexy girls. i like sexy guys. i like sexy in general. you know. >> reporter: this is bella thorne. ♪ i don't need no i.d. 'cause i'm bella thorne ♪ the former disney star unfilter unfiltered, unafraid to speak her mind. >> world is going to see my boobies, then it's going to be my choice! >> reporter: that bold declaration sent to abc news this weekend in response to a hacker's blackmail attempt. >> why i leaked my own nudes. because i felt really taken advantage of. >> reporter: threatening to leak her private photos. >> what really makes me

uncomfortable about somebody having these photos of me, and it was that it's not my choice to give it to them. that that was really the most -- the most [ bleep ] up part that just made me feel seriously uncomfortable. >> reporter: tweeting "for too long i let a man take advantage of me over and over and i'm expletive sick of it." how did you become such a rebel? >> i think a lot of wanting to know my father. he was a rebel are and quite crazy and out there and did a lot of -- ooh. >> reporter: bella's father died in a motorcycle crash when she was 9. >> how did your father's death affect not just your family but you? >> questions that i'll never have answers to. the constant seeking of acceptance that i'll never have. the constant need for affection that i'll never get. and so i think that's probably where my rebellion comes from. >> reporter: the emptiness following his death described in her latest book, part poetry, part stream of consciousness. "the life of a wannabe

mogul: mental disarray." >> what's the real bella thorne? >> she's me. she's like that girl in that book. she's just like, you know, sitting right here. >> she's in a lot of pain, this girl in this book. >> yes. i would say so. >> she talks about depression. >> yeah. there's a lot of [ bleep ] in that book. it's out there. it's very -- it's very -- i just say it like it is. >> reporter: it's a far cry from her wholesome disney days at 13 dancing opposite zendaya on the hit show "shake it up." ♪ shake it up >> i doubt you know how to teach dyslexics. >> who's dyslexic? >> cici. >> how did you know that? >> reporter: her character cici jones mirroring bella's real-life struggle with dyslexia, which her book makes no attempt to hide. >> how does someone who's dyslexic become this wide-ranging author? >> you know, i couldn't read, and i learned how to read from reading scripts. >> you shared about being bullied because of your dyslexia. >> mm-hmm.

>> what was that like growing up? >> bullying is not fun. it's a lot of insecurities that you gain from all of that. >> reporter: she said she was also bullied for speaking spanish. growing up cuban-american, just one of many painful chapters that shaped who she is today. >> was it because i was molested my whole life? exposed to sex at such a young age that feels the most natural to offer the world. or is it because i was raised to think i wasn't good enough? >> reporter: the abuse lasted, she says, through till adolescen adolescence. >> how did the young you perceive what was happening? >> definitely stockholm syndrome. oh, yeah. for sure. i mean, when you're raised with someone and you don't know that it's wrong, it's just very like -- an everyday occurrence like no big deal. and so that's kind of how i treated it, like no big deal. >> some survivors i've interviewed have told me that they have anger toward the adults who couldn't protect

them. >> i think that you have anger towards society in general. this is something that has literally happened at everyone's doorstep. >> reporter: thorne explains the reasoning why so many victims of sexual abuse remain silent. >> i don't want to convince someone of my tragedies. because society makes our victims feel like villains. and therefore the girl never walks into the police station and really tells the story. >> reporter: 20 million fans follow her every move on instagram. her life now an open book. >> do you feel pressure to put out a certain view, image of yourself? >> 100%, yeah. i think as we all do, you know, instagram is our worst mask of ourselves. >> what i love su mais you make other people would regards as big announcements in a no big deal way. >> chill way. >> confirming your bisexuality. actually a pansexual. and i didn't know that. >> okay. >> somebody explained to me thoroughly what that is.

>> explain that to me. because -- >> i am pan. you like beings. you like what you like. it doesn't have to be a girl or a guy or, you know, a he, a she, a they, a this, or that. it's literally you like personality. you just like a being. >> reporter: perhaps that's the real bella thorne. fearless, unapologetic, and always ready for the next chapter. >> you're a writer. you're an actor. you're a dancer. you're a singer. what do you want to focus on moving forward? >> i'm doing a lot of writing. writing and direct. that's definitely what i feel most happy when i do. so i think i have to go more toward that because i like being happy. >> and bella thorne's book "the life of a wannabe mogul: mental disarray" comes out tomorrow. up next the beloved star trying to fill some mighty big shoes in mr. rogers' neighborhood. when i was diagnosed with breast cancer, there was no hesitation, i went straight to ctca.

after my mastectomy, it was maddening because i felt part of my identity was being taken away. when you're able to restore what cancer's taken away, you see that transformation firsthand knowing that she had options that she could choose, helped restore hope. my team made me feel like a whole person again. cancer treatment centers of america. appointments available now. cancer treatment centers of america. be right back. with moderate to severe crohn's disease, i was there, just not always where i needed to be. is she alright? i hope so. so i talked to my doctor about humira. i learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of crohn's disease after trying other medications. and the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions,

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finally tonight, the dawn of a new beautiful day in the neighborhood. ♪ welcome to mister rogers'

neighborhood. that familiar red cardigan, those tennis shoes, and that very familiar face. now tom hanks's transformation into america's favorite neighbor, shooting parts of the upcoming movie in the same studio the late fred rogers used. back to where it all started for one man whose mission was to help children then and now grow. ♪ please won't you be my neighbor ♪ an american movie legend playing an american tv legend. that's "nightline." you can just when you thought you were done painting... ...you discover paint bleed under your tape... not with frogtape! frogtape is the only painter's tape treated with patented paintblock technology. paintblock reacts with the water in latex paint to form a micro-barrier against paint bleed, giving you the sharpest lines possible. get professional results with frogtape... no messy lines, no paint bleed.

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