ravine, but three months have passed and there has been no sign of him. robinson says police are making little progress and he has had to hire an independent investigator. >> why do you think that is that cases like your son's go unheard? >> as much as i really hate to say this and sometimes i think race is a factor. >> reporter: in 2020 more than 500,000 people were reported missing, nearly 40% of them people of color, and they're disappearing at disproportionate rates. while black americans make up 13% of the u.s. population, they account for 35% of missing persons cases. >> automatically law enforcement assumed that these children, they're run a ways, these adults that they are involved in some sort of criminal activity. so they're basically just, you know, swept under the rug. >> reporter: former law enforcement officer dericka wilson started the black and missing foundation after seeing so many of those cases involved.