CLEVELAND — We've seen reports all over Cleveland about hundreds of missing people; some get found, and others are still missing. Police are reminding the public to keep an eye out; you never know when a simple tip could bring someone home.
Inside Rudy's Strudel and Bakery, Lidia Trempe ensures everyone's stomachs and hearts are full.
“I want to pass that positivity and this camaraderie, like all of us together, out to the world, if possible, with pierogies and kolaches,” said Lidia.
She also carried that same attitude Wednesday morning when she thought she spotted a missing 16-year-old boy who was posted on social media walking down West 117th Street.
“I'm like, my god, is that that young child that's missing?” said Lidia.
For a second, Lidia contemplated whether or not she should turn around.
“If I don't know for sure, then that I can't live with myself because god forbid my child was missing, and somebody didn't turn around,”
She took a chance and turned around; she drove up beside the teen and called the name posted on Facebook.
“He turns around. He's like, 'yeah,' and at that moment, I’m like, 'Oh, my God, it's him,'” Lidia said.
Newburgh Heights Police Chief John Majoy and the president of Cleveland Missing said the community and social media are crucial in finding missing individuals.
“There's more members of the public, and there are law enforcement officers, and so this is why we need to have the public's help all the time,” Majoy said. “When Cleveland missing puts out stuff on our social media. We get hundreds of shares, and that's what we want.”
In every case they work, tips are their most significant asset, including this week. The 16-year-old went missing from Fairview Park Monday night. Fairview Park Chief Paul Shepard said they spent hours searching, calling out to the media and posting on social media.
“They passed it on. There were a lot of people that cared. And they kept looking, and we got some good tips,” said Shepard.
That post is why Lidia recognized him; now he's home.
“I think with anything with law enforcement, we'd like people to pay attention. And we like people who do the right things. And in this case, she did,” Shepard said.
Police hope more people can be like Lidia and simply see and say something.
“It's kind of like what we're supposed to do; this is how I was raised. I mean, we're here for each other. We're Cleveland,” Lidia said.
