Kansas City police are asking the public for help finding Caroline Martinez, a 12-year-old girl who was last seen walking in an unknown direction near Van Brunt Boulevard and Thompson Avenue two days ago, on October 5. She is described as Hispanic, 5 feet 1 inch tall, about 170 pounds, with long brown hair, brown eyes, and both nostrils pierced. She was last seen wearing grey shorts, a black shirt, and black sandals.
The alert was shared by the kcpolice
account, which lists its mission as working to “protect and serve with professionalism, honor and integrity.” Anyone with information is asked to call KCPD's missing person unit at 816-234-5043 or dial 911 in an emergency.
The intersection where Caroline was last seen sits in Kansas City's Historic Northeast neighborhood, directly adjacent to Northeast High School, which has occupied the grounds since 1913, according to Northeast News. The area is a dense residential district bordering one of the city's longstanding public schools.
How Missouri Law Handles Missing Juvenile Reports
Under Missouri law, any agency that receives a missing person report must immediately enter the details into both the state's law enforcement system and the National Crime Information Center, with no mandatory waiting period before a case can be opened, per the Revised Statutes of Missouri. State statute also defines a missing juvenile as anyone under 18 whose residence is in Missouri, or who is believed to be in the state, whose location is unknown and who has been reported to law enforcement.
KCPD investigates these cases through its dedicated Missing Persons Section, a unit that Police Chief Stacy Graves reinstated in April 2023, assigning a sergeant and seven detectives to the team, according to KCUR. The unit had previously been dissolved under former chief Rick Smith, who shifted those officers to homicide and patrol duties amid department-wide staffing shortages.
Statewide Numbers Show the Scale of the Problem
Missouri law enforcement agencies recorded 4,490 missing juvenile reports in 2026 through early October, with 408 active missing juvenile cases still open statewide, according to data from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Despite that volume, KCPD's own track record suggests many cases end in a safe recovery: the department handled 1,125 total missing-person cases in 2024 and located 1,118 of those individuals, including 872 juveniles classified as runaways or missing youth, as reported by KCUR.
Beyond standard database entry, Missouri also maintains an Endangered Person Advisory system that allows local police to request voluntary public broadcasts through media outlets when a missing person does not meet Amber Alert criteria but is believed to be in danger due to age, health, or unclear circumstances, per the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Separately, the Federal Communications Commission established a new Missing Endangered Persons alert code for the national Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alert network starting in September 2025, giving agencies another tool to push urgent notices to mobile phones and television broadcasts.
Broader Push for Stronger Protections
Legislation introduced in 2026 by Missouri members of the U.S. House aims to expand federal alert coverage and first-responder search protocols specifically for missing individuals with developmental or cognitive needs, according to the Office of Congressman Mark Alford. The push for stronger frameworks comes against a backdrop flagged by a federal watchdog: a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General evaluation found that 978 children went missing from foster care placements in Missouri during a single year, underscoring how missing youth cases often involve complex underlying risk factors.
For now, Caroline Martinez remains missing, and KCPD has not released additional details about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is urged to contact KCPD's missing person unit at 816-234-5043 or call 911.
