Dawn Roe and the dedicated members of Girl Vow are committed to reuniting missing girls with their families.  

The average New Yorker may not recognize the thousands of missing persons faces or know their names, but the Bronx-based organization that started back in 2015 aims to address the needs of at-risk youth that are reported missing.  

“Enough is enough. We need to change the narrative. we need to change the direction we're going in terms of not addressing the issues properly when it comes to missing girls,” said Roe.  

Roe’s connections to this issue stem from her own battles against depression and suicidal thoughts. She ran away when she was younger and wants to dedicate her work to making sure at-risk youth don’t make the same mistakes she did. 

While she’s already helped change the course of troubled young New Yorkers who’ve returned home to their families, she’s also continually working against the clock to find those who haven’t gone home yet.  

“We become the boots on the ground that the NYPD can’t be,” said Roe. “Often times in our community, we don’t want to communicate with the NYPD, so it makes the job a little more difficult.” 

In April 2022, news broke of Scarlett Rivera and Mariah Sanchez both going missing. Enrique, father of Scarlett and foster care parent to Mariah, says a no-show to an after-school meetup turned into hours of radio silence.  

The father quickly turned to social media, capturing the attention of Dawn Roe and Girl Vow. They helped him tap into a network of the teen’s relationships, giving ACS, police, and bounty hunter a point of direction. After searching in New Jersey and across the five boroughs, a phone call from Scarlett in Poughkeepsie led to a safe return.  

“I’m better… I regret what I did and all the time back home I realized there was no reason for me to leave,” said Scarlett.  

She now is wrapping up her final year in middle school, and while Roe continues to aid in the search for other missing girls, that family is happy after a perfect ending to a nightmare situation.