A section of Port Henderson Road, better known as 'Back Road', in Portmore, St Catherine. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer

AT LEAST one, and maybe more, of the young girls reported missing under the Ananda Alert system are in St Catherine, working as prostitutes on the Port Henderson strip, better known as 'Back Road'.

Up to September this year, 1,206 children had been reported missing, with 676 confirmed as returning home, three killed, and more than 500 still unaccounted for.

However, The Gleaner has confirmed that, of those un-accounted for, at least one is selling her body on Back Road, and business operators and other prostitutes in the area believe she is periodically joined by friends of the same age.

"We see her over here and we lick out pon her, so she have to leave," one of the prostitutes told The Gleaner yesterday, as she lounged outside a premises on Port Henderson Road.

"She gone and live in a community in west Kingston," the prostitute added, in reference to the 15-year-old the police reported missing with an Ananda Alert more than three months ago.

However, a business operator in the area said the girl, whose name is being withheld, still visits the strip to "conduct business".

"Since the police start dem crackdown on the strip, she not here so much, but she still comes on Friday and Saturday night," the business operator said.

"She live with one of the prostitute dem in Denham Town and we see her picture pon TV," added the business operator.

She was supported by another business operator, who said the teenage girls, more and more, were becoming a feature of the strip, which is known for its seafood and guest houses, as much as for the prostitutes who frequent the area.

"Sometimes, when I see the young girls dem and what dem doing to their bodies, me stomach sick," the business owner said.

More than 200 prostitutes offering several sexual favours are said to frequent Port Henderson Road.

While not willing to comment on the specific case, Betty Ann Blaine, convenor of children's advocacy group Hear the Children's Cry, said she was concerned generally about the number of young girls engaging in the sex trade, whether through working in massage parlours, as prostitutes, or in bars.

"We do have a problem of young girls - and this is not anything new to Jamaica - getting into the sex trade. That's a problem that has existed for a long time," Blaine said.

She said cases would have to be monitored by law-enforcement and citizens themselves.

"If you see a child in a place that is inappropriate, then somebody ought to alert law enforcement because at least some questions need to be asked and perhaps investigations done," she said.

Yesterday, The Gleaner informed the Children's Registry of its findings.

Only recently, an early-morning operation by the police resulted in the arrest of 72 people, many of them women believed to be prostitutes.

The Keith Hinds-led Portmore Municipal Council and the Cannock Chase Council out of England, which were twinned in 2004, have announced plans to address the issue with a major clean-up programme.

Hinds has declared that the time has come for Back Road to become a clean business hub for the municipality.

He told a recent gathering that he had been in touch with the police about the problem and was informed that they would be working to get rid of the ladies of the night.

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com