(Salem, Ore.) – Mataya Gearhart, a child foster child who went missing from Portland, Ore. on Sept. 8, 2020 has been found. Mataya was found Sunday, Nov. 22. The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), Child Welfare Division is thankful for the community support to find her.

A small number of children in foster care may be in significant danger when they run away or have gone missing. As ODHS works to do everything it can to find these missing children and ensure their safety, media alerts will be issued in some circumstances when it is determined necessary. Sometimes, in these situations, a child may go missing repeatedly, resulting in more than one media alert for the same child.

Report child abuse to the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline by calling 1-855-503-SAFE (7233).  This toll-free number allows you to report abuse of any child or adult to the Oregon Department of Human Services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. You can also report child abuse by calling a local police department, county sheriff, county juvenile department, or Oregon State Police.

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