Fighting for the Forgotten

When I first began writing about missing persons and unsolved murders, I never imagined the road would take me so deeply into the hidden corners of society—the places where addiction, survival sex work, and cycles of poverty collide with indifference. Yet, case after case brought me back to the same heartbreaking reality: some victims are treated as if their lives matter less.

And I cannot accept that.

So many of the cases I cover share familiar threads. A young woman struggling with substance use disappears without a trace. A man battling addiction is last seen leaving a shelter or sleeping on the streets. Someone turns to survival sex work as a means to endure—only to vanish in the shadows.

What society too often fails to acknowledge is that these individuals are not just statistics. They are daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers. They are human beings whose stories are worthy of attention, justice, and dignity.

But let’s talk about those statistics—because they paint a sobering picture.

• According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), more than 46 million Americans aged 12 and older met the criteria for a substance use disorder in 2021. That’s nearly one in seven people.
• The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that drug overdoses kill more than 100,000 people in the U.S. every year—a rate that has more than tripled since 1999.
• Women involved in survival sex work are 40 times more likely to be murdered than women in the general population, according to research published in The Lancet.
• People who are homeless or transient—conditions often tied to addiction—are at drastically higher risk for both victimization and disappearance.

Behind every statistic is a name. A face. A family still searching.

One of those names is Amanda Fischetto.

St. Petersburg, Florida. January 6, 2023. The last confirmed sighting of Amanda was not on a street corner or in a neighborhood gathering—but at the Pinellas County Jail. She was 34 years old, standing 5’1” and weighing between 120–125 pounds, with the fragile presence of someone carrying the weight of addiction.

Amanda’s family says her life had unraveled in the years before she vanished. She struggled with drugs and often moved through areas where they were easily found. Her sister, who reported her missing, hadn’t heard Amanda’s voice since April 12, 2022—months before records placed her inside the jail for the final time.

After that January day, Amanda disappeared into silence. No clothing was logged. No personal belongings recorded. Just a line in the system and a date that now serves as her last known.

Today, Amanda would be 37 years old. For her family, the questions are simple but unbearable: Where did she go when the jail doors closed? Who saw her last? And why has no one come forward with answers?

Last Known: Pinellas County Jail, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Status: Missing since January 6, 2023.

I fight for Amanda—and for every person like her.

Because every time a case is ignored due to addiction or lifestyle, the message is cruel and unmistakable: your life doesn’t matter. And that message doesn’t just wound families—it emboldens predators.

When a young mother addicted to opioids vanishes, she is more than her addiction. When a man disappears after falling into homelessness, he is more than his circumstances. When someone disappears from the world of survival sex work, they are more than society’s judgment.

They are lives cut short or stolen, and they all deserve justice.

I am committed to telling these stories. To demanding answers. To reminding law enforcement, media, and the public that these lives are not footnotes—they are front page.

My work is not about exploiting pain. It’s about amplifying voices that were silenced too soon. It’s about shining a light on the cases that most would rather forget. It’s about changing the culture of indifference into one of action.

If you are reading this, I invite you into the fight. Share the names of the missing. Support families searching for their loved ones. Demand accountability from systems that overlook the vulnerable.

Because addiction should not be a death sentence. Poverty should not be an invisibility cloak. Survival sex work should not be a target on someone’s back.

Every life has value. Every story deserves to be told. Every missing person deserves to be found.

Amanda Fischetto deserves justice. And so do countless others.

👉 Follow our work at Last Known: True Crime Initiative and stand with us in demanding answers.