Imagine waking up one day, only to hear that someone has kidnapped your child from a local school or park. That's exactly what happened in our Missouri town when a 16-year-old girl went missing and was later found dead.

The story started on Monday morning, when the girl didn't show up for her first class at school. Her friends grew worried as hours passed without any sign of her or word from her family. By mid-afternoon, local police were already investigating a possible abduction.

Police discovered that she was picked up by an older SUV near her home early Monday morning. The five suspects who took her have now been arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder. They allegedly kept the girl in their trunk before dumping her body miles away after torturing her.

This isn't isolated: violent crimes against teenagers are rising across our country, hitting closer to home than ever before. Our neighborhoods aren’t safe enough if we can’t keep young people secure while they’re walking to school or hanging out with friends.

What kind of world are we leaving them? We’re supposed to be able to teach our kids about crossing the street and looking both ways, not teaching them how to avoid becoming victims. How do you explain this to a child?

The fear is real and it's palpable in every parent’s heart now.