The Lost Girls

by John Glatt
July 26-31, 2015


Cleveland made headlines in May 2013. It was a day I will remember forever. I listened to news stories for 10 years about two girls who had been missing and couldn't believe my ears when I heard they had been found – together. That just doesn't happen. And the more we learned, a third girl was also held captive, but no one ever came looking for her. Turns out she received the worst treatment and was imprisoned the longest of the three.

There is no way to "review" a book about this horrific event. I will say that Glatt's information was laid out clearly and presented in a way that made me sail through this book in just over four days. But the takeaway here is how completely the Cleveland police failed. Yes, it was wonderful for the team who finally got Amanda and her daughter out of the house and went back in to rescue Gina and Michelle, but before that – an embarrassment. For years people would report hearing screams from the house. Police would show up and knock on the door and leave when no one answered. The same thing would happen after reports of seeing a child in an upstairs window. And again when calls came in describing naked women in the backyard. WHY weren't these calls taken more seriously?? Unfortunately it's the reputation of that neighborhood and so many others like it. It's a travesty.

If you want to learn more about the girls' time in captivity and the subsequent rescue, this is a great place to start. I think we as Clevelanders will be seeking information for years to come. It's just hard to wrap our heads around why and how something like this can happen so close to home.