Police chief sounds the alarm as nearly THIRTY Cleveland children are reported missing in two weeks

An Ohio police chief has expressed concern about the alarmingly high number of children who have gone missing in Cleveland recently.

As many as 27 children were reported missing in the area over just two weeks at the beginning of May, according to John Majoy, chief of police of Newburgh Heights, a suburb about five miles south of Cleveland.

Majoy, who also serves as board president for the organization Cleveland Missing, called the year 'extraordinary' in terms of the unprecedented levels of reported missing children.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Majoy said the cases of missing children between the ages of 12 and 17 remained unusually high through the month of May.

'For some reason, in 2023, we've seen a lot more than we normally see, which is troubling in part because we don't know what's going on with some of these kids, whether they're being trafficked or whether they're involved in gang activity or drugs,' he told the outlet. 

Newburgh Heights police chief John Majoy has sounded the alarm about a trend of missing children in the Cleveland area

Caleb Ellis, 16, ran away from his home with two other teenagers on April 6, according to police (left). Malikah Nelson, 15, was last seen in Cleveland on April 9 (right)

As of mid-May, there were a total of 56 active missing children cases in Cleveland, meaning almost half of the cases were reported in May. 

Majoy emphasized that he has never seen such high numbers of missing children in his 33-year-career.

While Majoy claimed that it's likely the majority of cases are runaways and not abductions, he added that teenagers are naïve when it comes to predators, who he can be 'wolves in sheep's clothing.'

The 27 missing children were reported between May 2 and May 16. 

And, unfortunately, most missing children don't make the news, because there is usually no Amber Alert, said Majoy, describing the cases as 'silent crimes happening right under our noses.'

There is a strict criteria for an Amber Alert - police have to have reasonable believe there has been an abduction, and that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.

There also has to be enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction.

Payton Gordon, 16, was last seen in August 2022 in Cleveland (left).  Amida Evans, 13, reportedly ran away from his Cleveland home on May 8

Milkeno Ward, 16, was last seen in August 2022 ans is believed to have ran away from home (left). Jevonte Jones, 16, was reported missing on April 27 (right)

'The problem is where are they? Where do they go? They can be in a drug house or farmed to prostitution or caught up in drug trafficking or gangs.'

Finding the missing children is even more difficult when considering that most of the cases listed on the website for missing Cleveland children don't include a photo.

Last year, more than 15,000 children were reported in Ohio, with four that were found dead.

Abductions amounted to 8,525 of the cases, with 34 cases stemming from abductions by a noncustodial parent.

Only five of the children had a stranger kidnap them, according to a report by the state's attorney general Dave Yost.

Police were able to find 36 percent of the children, but 615 went into 2023 still missing.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Cleveland Police Department's missing persons division for comment on this story.