derrica, back to you here. i want to ask you. do we know what is happening to them?ople that they know? are they running away in some cases? help us understand. >> you know, there is so many -- there's so many ways to look at these missing person cases. they are vanishing because mental health issues, they are disappearing because of domestic violence, they are disappearing because of human trafficking. human trafficking is a multibillion dollar industry that is happening right here on u.s. soil. so rather these girls or boys are running away, we need to find out what are they running from and who they are running to. and so it doesn't really matter the circumstances as to their disappearance. we need to find them. >> new jersey congresswoman bonnie coleman said several things are contributing to the issue such as academic disadvantages and poverty, mistreatment of missing black women and girl by law enforcement, and a lack of public awareness, she says. we do have to kind of look, do we not of how this happens? because isn't that where we may be able to start to tur

. >> reporter: derrica wilson is the president of the black and missing foundation.le she applauds d.c.'s attempt to raise awareness, she says that for too long, the media and public officials have ignored cases of minority kids going missing. in fact, according to the f.b.i., while blacks make up just 13% of the u.s. population, they make up more than 38% of all missing youth. >> it's heartbreaking we don't know where she is right now. >> reporter: for example: eight- year-old relisha rudd went missing in washington in 2014. at the time, her mother begged for her daughter's return. >> come back home, unharmed and know that i love you. >> reporter: over three years later, she's still missing, and wilson says relisha rudd never became a household name. not like chandra levy, or natalee holloway, or even the more recent case of elizabeth thomas, the tennessee 15-year- old who was kidnapped by her teacher, and found. >> this is not an epidemic that just popped up. this is something that's been going on for quite some time. there's a term that's often used, which is, "th