Lakewood resident continues two-year search for missing teen Ashley Summers
Posted by Kate Spirgen May 19, 2009 14:33PM
Categories: Breaking News
Lakewood resident Linda Summers is continuing the search for 15-year-old Ashley Summers who went missing from the west side of Cleveland nearly two years ago.
Ashley went missing July 6, 2007 when she ran away from a relative's home on Holmden Avenue in Cleveland. She is the daughter of Linda Summers's husband's oldest daughter.
Ashley Nicole Summers went missing from Holmden Avenue in Cleveland nearly two years ago.
The family has not had any sightings of Ashley since November of 2007. Summers and her family spotted Ashley from their car near West 44th Street with her hair cut and died blonde but she disappeared before Summers could turn the car around.
"The area she was last seen in is a known prostitution area, so she could be in the area or something could have happened to her," Summers said. "It's hard to say. If anything, I would think that she's not in the area. They take these girls hours away so that they can't be found."
Summers's main source of frustration is the length of time it took to get Ashley's photo into circulation. Ashley was placed on the National Clearing House in June of last year and was not classified as an endangered runaway until December.
It was five months before any photographs of Ashley were circulated at all.
"That time period is so critical," Summers said. "I think if we could have gotten our photos out to the media sooner it really would have made a difference. It has just been really hard because of the lack of attention. I mean, a 13-year-old girl runs away and nobody knows where she is and nobody wants to hear about it?"
In honor of National Missing Children's Day on May 25, Summers will share her family's story at Lakewood United Methodist Church, 15700 Detroit Ave. during the church's Family Fun Safety Night which begins at 6 p.m. May 29.
The church hosts family fun nights each month, but this month's dinner will be focused on child safety.
The church, where Summers is also a member, will host a potluck dinner followed by a safety video aimed at children age 2 to 12 years old. The church will also photograph and fingerprint kids of all ages for identification kits that will be given to their parents and guardians.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Ashley Summers can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678.
To read more about Ashley Summers, pick up the May 21 edition of the "Lakewood Sun Post."
http://blog.cleveland.com/lakewoodsunpo ... es_tw.html
