CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Harley Brinson left home Sept. 12 with no car or phone, but her parents said she did leave a note.
"There is a trend going around where friends sell friends to sex trafficking, and that’s our biggest fear right now, and that’s why we are so worried, and that’s why every lead, we run out this door no matter what time of night," said Brinson's father Micheal Dulinsky.
Police don't send out alerts or search parties for children they consider runaways, as opposed to those who go missing, but according to human sex-trafficking experts, these kids can face some of the same dangers.
"We get calls for all sorts of situations, obviously our lane is children trafficking and we want to prevent that, and a runaway is high-risk for trafficking," said New Life Refuge Ministries Operations Manager Tina Canary. "They just are."
Canary said runaways should be taken very seriously because of the dangers they can run into.
She says in 2021, there were 25,000 children who were reported missing to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children -- 1 in 6 of those were likely sex-trafficked.
"We believe that it's actually higher. Because roughly 1 percent of those victims are recovered", she said.
Because they don't have a lot of money, Canary says runaways are vulnerable to criminals.
"When children go out into the world by themselves and find themselves in need -- thirsty, hungry, scared -- that’s when the traffickers come out," she said.
Shelly Dulinsky and Micheal Dulinsky said they've been worried sick for more than two now, holding onto hope that their 16-year-old daughter is not in danger after running away from home.
"We are getting closer we feel, but at the same time we feel we are getting further away", Micheal Dulinsky said.
The Dulinskys said they have been searching for Harley nonstop, and following every single tip or lead that comes to them with help from police.
But as the leads become dead ends, and the days without Harley get longer, they can’t help but wonder the worst.
"If you hear this message, come home," said Shelly Dulinsky. "Please. I love you so much."
One question that always comes to our newsroom is: Why are some of these cases highlighted by law enforcement and media, while others are not.
Our policy here at 3NEWS is to be careful when identifying minors, and to follow the direction of police to see if the teen is believed to be in danger. Police will make that dermination based on the specifics of each individual case.
“There’s a big difference between a missing person and a runaway,” said CCPD Public Information Officer Lt. Michael Pena. “So, a missing person is just somebody who comes up missing. a runaway is typically a juvenile that has a history of it or you know, the parents knew the child was gonna run away.”
So when you hear about a missing person that hasn't been widely publicized, it doesn't mean police aren't investigating.
When they determine someone's in danger, alerts are put out because they believe the public can play a major role in bringing that person back home.