Nonprofit brings awareness to missing persons cases across the country

TEXAS - In this week's "Missing in Texas," we're taking a look at a nonprofit that helps with missing persons cases across the country, including in Texas. 

A Voice for the Voiceless brings awareness to missing persons cases.

"We're just dedicated to the effort in this cause. It's vital," founder Whitney Sich said. 

Sich founded the organization about four years ago. 

"I had a massive stroke. I couldn't walk or talk. I was on my computer, and I could see how many people were missing," she said.

She heard about the case of a toddler wandering the street, and she started distributing flyers. The toddler was eventually identified.

"That kind of started a domino effect. My inbox started exploding. We just had a huge response from sharing flyers and creating flyers. We quickly turned into an offline cause," she said.

While Sich is based in Florida, the organization has about 40 volunteers nationwide. 

Following the lead of law enforcement, they hold vigils, do searches, anything to keep a person's name out there. 

"Everybody has something that they can do to make a difference," Sich said. "Whatever your superpower or your purpose is, you can find it. So we have people that say, 'I want to volunteer,' and the next thing you know, they're creating flyers for us, or they are helping search, or they are helping us organize vigils where we are not located."

Texas cases they've helped with include Jason Landry, Caleb Harris, and Lina Khil. 

"I feel like [Lina's] case, you know, it might go cold because there's not a lot of, I mean, people aren't really saying her name anymore, but that little girl is still out there somewhere, so it's important that we remember that her case is still unsolved," she said.

They've helped with almost 500 cases since starting. 

"It feels good to know that we're helping, but there's obviously times where it's sad because you wish you could do more or the ending isn't what you wanted it to be," Sich said. 

The hope is to bring loved ones home safe so they can have a voice again.

"If you see a missing person, if you see a flyer for a missing person, it could absolutely happen to you. If you see that flyer, please consider sharing it, because it literally takes one person to see a flyer and say, 'hey, I just saw that person at the bus stop,' or 'I think I remember his face from somewhere. Let me call the police and tell them where I think I saw them,'" Sich said. 

For more information on A Voice for the Voiceless and how you can volunteer or donate, click here.