🌱 30 Missing Children Found + Family Desperate To Find 20-year-old

Hey, everybody! It's me, Danielle Fallon-O'Leary, your host of the Odessa-Midland Patch newsletter. Let's get this day started off right, with a quick guide to everything you need to know about what's happening in town these days.

But first, your local weather:

• Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. High: 88 Low: 67.
• Thursday: A heavy t-storm in the p.m. High: 88 Low: 65.

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Here are the top three stories today in Odessa-Midland:

1. Thirty children have been found in a joint human trafficking operation involving a large number of agencies. Law enforcement's goal was to recover missing children reported in Midland and Ector Counties, but the process also targeted people seeking to exploit and traffic children. 1 out of 6 missing children reports are victims of some sort of human or sex trafficking. Through the joint investigation, special agents were also able to open more cases that could uncover more trafficking. The enforcement agencies are happy to have found 30 kids, the youngest 13 years old. (KOSA)
2. The Odessa College Board of Trustees will meet today to consider a new executive assistant to the president position and discuss budgets and investments. The meeting will also discuss the hiring of independent auditors for the college. The board will also be working on a reorganizing of the board. Members who were up for re-election this year ran uncontested. (Odessa American)
3. A Midland family is desperate to find the missing 20-year-old. Madeline Pantoja was last seen at her apartment on May 10 after neighbors heard an argument between her and her ex-boyfriend. Pantoja left her phone, keys, purse, and dog in her apartment. Her family says that she is very responsible and that leaving all her stuff in the apartment is just not like her. The police have no new information, and the family has been searching all over town. People in the community have offered up help to the family as well, searching for Pantoja with drones and sending them the footage. If you have any information about Madeline's whereabouts, call the Midland Police Department. (NewsWest9.com)

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Today and tomorrow in Odessa-Midland:

Wednesday, May 17

• Bookmobile - Karada Park (3:00 PM)

Thursday, May 18

• Instructional Coaching Training- Granado (Admin. Bldg.) (8:30 AM)
• Refined Orthodontics Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting - Midland (4:30 PM)
• Restoration Celebration - Midland Country Club (6:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• This week is National Police Week, with May 15 designated as Peace Officers Memorial Day. The purpose of the week is to remember and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty to protect the community. The Odessa Police Department will be paying tribute to fallen officers on May 18, 10 a.m., at Sunset Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home. (Odessa Police Department via Facebook)
• The Midland Fire Department spoke to Legacy Senior High School students at their Career Fair. The Firefighters discussed the benefits of joining the fire department and the opportunities that they have for students interested in a career with their department. (Midland TX Fire Department via Facebook)
• There were two overnight crashes, one of which involved a semi-truck and a Ford F-150. There were two people in the truck, one was thrown from the vehicle and died, and the other was pulled from the vehicle and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The other crash was at an intersection. Two people were transported to the hospital with minor injuries. (City of Odessa, Texas via Facebook)

You're officially in the loop for today! See you all soon for another update.

— Danielle Fallon-O'Leary

About me: Danielle Fallon-O’Leary is a content manager with content creation agency Lightning Media Partners and assists Patch.com with community newsletter curation. Danielle also holds a Master’s Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and works part-time as a pediatric speech therapist.