Comic Champions 'Forgotten' Lost Kids

Sept. 30 -- Thanks to one comic book writer-activist, superheroes are coming to the aid of "forgotten" missing children.

Alonzo Washington, a Kansas City father of seven and creator of comic hero Omega Man, has been appalled at the lack of national attention some missing children have received. Elizabeth Smart, Samantha Runnion, and Danielle van Dam all became household names this year as their tragic disappearances made frontpage headlines and received almost daily coverage from all the major national news organizations.

But what about Diamond and Tionda Bradley, two Chicago girls who have been missing since July 2001? Or Laura Ayala and Jahi Turner, a Houston-area girl and San Diego boy whose disappearances have been a mystery since March and April? And what about Dannarriah Finley, a 4-year-old Texas girl whose abduction from her home and slaying this past July remains unsolved? Or Alexis Patterson, the Milwaukee girl who has been missing since she disappeared while on her way to school in May?

The list goes on and on, and unless you live in Texas, Illinois, or Wisconsin, these missing children may not be so familiar. Both Alexis Patterson and Diamond and Tionda Bradley received some limited national coverage, but not the daily updates that surrounded the van Dam and Smart cases. Jahi Turner also received some initial attention but his case has stalled and been all but forgotten in the national headlines.

Washington hopes to both revive — and in some cases spark — national interest in these lesser-known missing children through his comic hero creations. He is including their pictures and profiles in his independent comic book Omega Man, in his trading cards and in a line of his superhero action figures.

"I was appalled at the lack of coverage some of these missing African-American children were getting compared to some of these missing white children," said Washington. "Children like Elizabeth Smart, Samantha Runnion, Danielle van Dam — people know who they are and they have remained in the American people's consciousness," Washington continued. "But I would be willing to bet no would know who the Diamond and Tionda Bradleyes or the Alexis Pattersons or the Dannarriah Finleys are unless they're following the cases. For some reason, these children's names do not remain in the American public's consciousness, and I'm trying to change that."