Found by Erutious

In a mid-size city of about 500,000 people, a DoorDash driver started noticing something unusual. Lost-pet and missing-person posters had always been a common sight around town, but now they were being replaced by something else: "Found" posters. The first one he saw was for a cocker spaniel named Lola, with a phone number for anyone missing her. He smiled at the thought of someone trying to reunite lost things with their owners. Over the next few weeks, the posters multiplied—a blue letterman jacket, car keys, another dog, a license plate, a backpack. The same phone number appeared on every one. It seemed like a community service, until it took a dark turn.

About two months after the first poster, the driver saw one that stopped him cold. It showed a frightened-looking girl, maybe eight or nine years old, in a school uniform. The text read: "Found one girl in school uniform. Found wandering aimlessly by Brooklyn and South. Girl does not know her home address. Girl does not know her parents' phone numbers. Girl says her cell phone and her money were taken by a mugger. Girl wants to be returned to her home. If you know this girl, please call the number below." The driver felt a chill. This wasn't a lost dog or a jacket—this was a child. Why wasn't she with the police? What was happening to her while someone waited for a claimant? Two days later, all the posters for the girl dis