An "ever-increasing number of people" have vanished "without trace" from a tiny Caribbean island, said the BBC, in what some are calling an "epidemic" of disappearances. Exact numbers are hard to come by, but at least 100 are believed to be currently missing. On the island of "just 108 square miles", home to fewer than 100,000 people, this number is "perplexing".
Roughly "two in three" of those missing are believed to be men, whose ages range from teenagers to their 70s. "Speculation is rife", with some suggesting "sinister" motivations including "organ trafficking" and gang initiation killings. And the island's "swathes of bushland" may be concealing bodies, making searches more difficult.
The discovery of the body of nine-year-old Chantel Crump in March, three days after she disappeared outside her home, marked a particularly "dark chapter", said Dominica News Online.
In response, volunteer organisation Concerned Citizens Group presented plans for a system modelled on the US "amber alert", which would notify the community instantly when a child was reported missing. A specialist task force that is "solely responsible" for missing persons cases has also been launched to tackle the issue, said The Antigua Observer.
This "commendable" task force represents a chance at "long-overdue justice" for the families of the missing, said Island Press Box. But "limited resources, inconsistent follow-ups and a lack of forensic advancements have hindered past investigations". Solving these cases "will require more than just a new unit": it will take "genuine commitment, better investigative tools and, most importantly, a justice system that refuses to let these cases go cold". | 
