CLEVELAND — The FOX 8 I TEAM is investigating what’s been done by local authorities to find a missing 8-year-old girl that apparently has not been seen since 2013. But we couldn’t get simple answers from Cleveland Police and Cuyahoga County child welfare workers.
Tuesday, the I-TEAM revealed an investigation to find a Cleveland child named Nevaeh. A police report showed her mother told a family caseworker she gave the child to a cousin in Florida in 2013.
The I-TEAM learned of the case because a caseworker called 911 to file a missing persons report in September. But we’ve found investigators learned of the case long before that.
Juvenile Court records show the county told a judge about the missing child in May and in August.
That led us to ask if the system to protect kids broke down? What happened between May and now?
Cleveland Police looked through their records and found no other 911 calls had come in to report Nevaeh missing. Police say her own mother never called either.
But Cuyahoga County said child welfare workers actually met with police at the family home back in May discussing domestic violence and the missing child. The county added, a case file was turned over to a Cleveland Police supervisor.
Police and the county are now both reviewing how their agencies have handled this case.
Meantime, there’s still no sign of Nevaeh.
The county has had a long history of parenting concerns with the mother in this case. And, the county recently took 8 kids away from her due to concerns about living conditions, domestic violence and more.
