Baltimore police are asking the public for help finding 16-year-old Charity Sykes, who was last seen in the 1500 block of Elmtree Street in Curtis Bay on July 30. Charity is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing approximately 256 pounds, and investigators believe she may be with friends.
The appeal came in a post from Baltimore Police published Sunday evening, more than four weeks after Charity was reportedly last seen. The 1500 block of Elmtree Street sits in Curtis Bay, a residential and industrial waterfront neighborhood in the southernmost stretch of Baltimore City, according to background compiled from Wikipedia. The neighborhood is bordered on three sides by industrial waterfront along a branch of the Patapsco River.
Southern District Missing Teen
— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) August 30, 2026
Baltimore police need your help in locating 16-year-old Charity Sykes.
Charity is 5’5” and weighs approximately 256lbs.
Charity was last seen on July 30, 2026, in the 1500 block of Elmtree Street. She is believed to be with friends.
If you know… pic.twitter.com/g59Cmy8tEo
Southern District Handling the Search
Curtis Bay falls under the jurisdiction of the Baltimore Police Department's Southern District, which operates out of 10 Cherry Hill Road and covers South Baltimore neighborhoods including Cherry Hill. Anyone with information on Charity's whereabouts is asked to call the Southern District at 410-396-2499 or 911, per the department's own appeal.
The block has drawn police attention before. Baltimore Witness has reported that the 1500 block of Elmtree Street, which features rowhouses and vacant structures, was also the site of a 2024 homicide investigation in which officers searched a vacant home on the block, according to Baltimore Witness.
Legal Rules Require Immediate Response
Federal law leaves no room for delay in cases involving missing teenagers. Under Suzanne's Law, part of the 2003 PROTECT Act, law enforcement agencies are barred from imposing any mandatory waiting period before accepting and investigating a missing person report for anyone under 21, according to guidance published by Wagner College. Maryland state protocol through the Maryland Department of State Police's Center for Missing and Unidentified Persons similarly mandates immediate acceptance of missing person reports statewide, with zero waiting period.
Baltimore Police Department Policy 714 reinforces those requirements at the local level, directing officers to accept missing person reports without delay using standardized state forms and to take immediate investigative action for all missing juveniles under 18, including entering the case into state and national police databases right away. The department has also built out a specialized Missing and Exploited Persons Unit, or MEPU, to handle missing persons, human trafficking, and juvenile cases, a capability highlighted in the department's 2025 mid-year public safety report.
A Busy Month for Missing Youth Alerts
Charity's case is one of several missing-child appeals Baltimore Police have issued in recent weeks. The department also sought public help this month locating two 11-year-old boys near Church Square in East Baltimore, as well as a 5-year-old boy who went missing overnight in the Western District. Both cases reflect how frequently BPD turns to social media to request public assistance for missing minors.
National data underscores why these appeals matter, even when a missing teen is believed to be with friends rather than in immediate danger. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children supported 32,167 missing child cases in 2025, with 92% classified as runaways, and reported an overall case resolution rate of 90%, according to figures from missingkids.org. Maryland's own clearinghouse estimates the state receives between 10,000 and 14,000 missing person reports annually across adults and juveniles, with the majority of juvenile reports involving voluntary departures, per a Maryland State Police statement. Even so, NCMEC treats runaway and peer-accompanied disappearances with high urgency given the heightened risks of exploitation, which is part of why investigators continue to lean on tips from the public to confirm a missing teenager's safety.
