It’s been almost a year since Tina Atkins Martin was reported missing. She hasn’t been heard from since.

    The 47-year-old wife and mother left her home on Burnt Leaf Lane in Newton for work on Feb. 14, 2008, and never returned, said Chief Deputy Coy Reid with the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.

    Suspicions first arose when she didn’t meet her employer, Keith Burns, to pick up the sandwich truck she drove for a living. Her 1996 white Ford Thunderbird, with a North Carolina registration and tag No. TNJ-2783, is also missing.

    Martin is one of seven people reported missing from Catawba County in 2008 who have still not been found. A total of 142 people were reported missing that year, according to records at the county sheriff’s office.

    Reid said most runaways are teenagers. Rebellious in nature at that age, he said they’ll go missing for a few days while they hide out with friends.

    “Kids run away every day and come back,” Reid said.

    He said nine out of 10 return within a week. They either return home on their own or someone leaks information about their location.

    “The majority of the time, the kid says, ‘This life isn’t for me,’ and they go home,” Reid said.

    Others are more difficult to find. Sometimes it’s because something bad has happened to them, perhaps abduction or murder. And some people want to leave without a trace.

    “If they don’t want to be found, it’s tough to find them,” Reid said.

    An average of 12 people are reported as missing or runaways in Catawba County every month. There were 141 such reports filed in 2007. Of them, nine of are still missing.

    Travis Baker is among those still not found. Baker disappeared on April 16, 2007. He was last seen in the Oxford School Road area near Catawba, along with his candy apple red 1998 Chevrolet Camaro. Like Martin, his disappearance was discovered when he didn’t report to work.

    Nearly two years after his disappearance, Reid said leads continue to come in about Baker. However, the same cannot be said for Martin. He said there were some leads when she first went missing, but little has come in since.

    It’s the parents, friends and other family members who are left to worry.