9-Year-Old Missing For Over A Year Found Thanks To Tip From Reality TV Show

Sep 05, 2018 by apost team

Nine-year-old Mariah Martinez vanished in October 2016 with her mother and two siblings. While the mother and siblings were later located in January 2017, Mariah still could not be found. Her mother was arrested, but she would not tell law enforcement officials where Mariah was. She remained missing for more than one year until a TV viewer tip led police to her.

Mariah’s mother, Amanda Martinez, ran off with her and her two siblings out of fear of losing custody of the children. After a court order resulted in law enforcement officials getting involved, the mother and the two siblings were located within a few months of their disappearance. The mother was arrested on a charge of interfering with child custody.

Despite her arrest, she would not reveal Mariah’s location to law enforcement officials. Law enforcement officials hit a roadblock and could not solve the case on their own.

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This case was featured on the documentary series “Live PD,” which airs on the A&E channel. One viewer who watched the episode contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to provide a helpful tip regarding Mariah's whereabouts. This tip was exactly what law enforcement officials needed to break open the case and to locate Mariah. After receiving the tip, Mariah was soon located in New Mexico. 

After finding her, the Lubbock Police Department issued a statement of thanks to the television show, to the viewer who provided the tip and to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It stated that there are often challenges when cases involve multiple jurisdictions, such as when they cross state lines. In this particular case, Mariah went missing in Lubbock and was located one state over in New Mexico. The police department attributed the success in breaking the case to the power of television, which raises awareness for cases like these. 

The unfortunate reality is that many children like Mariah are still missing today, and many others continue to go missing each day.

What do you think can be done to help keep children safe from situations like Mariah's? Leave your thoughts below and pass this story on to your friends.