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conulyREALLY lost. And we drove back and forth several times past a school which had a banner about praying for some girl. I looked her up when we got back to the house, she'd been missing for close to a year.
A few months ago her body was found. There was a thing on yahoo about it, and even as I clicked the link about how "missing girl in cali found" I knew it was going to be this girl. And it was.
She had been murdered, and they found the guy who did it, I believe.
The wide coverage of cases like this leads a lot of people to feel that these cases are increasing. They get scared, and no surprise.
But when you think about it, consider this: California is a big state. This girl had already been missing a long time when I was there, and longer, of course, when her body was found (just this past winter). And yet, when I clicked the link thinking "It's going to be the same girl who was missing this past summer" I was right.
There weren't so many notable cases of missing, probably abducted teenagers* that her name was buried in the mix, or that I was going to be surprised when I clicked the link. That is the fact to take away from this.
*The tragic thing, of course, is that there are plenty of missing teenagers who are probably runaways or "throwaways" whose parents or foster care just don't care. But there's no media storm about them... maybe because they're far more common than happy middle class kids who get picked up off the streets in SHOCKING cases. And not all of those kids end up happy when they're grown, with a few funny stories about their exotic past. At any rate, though, if you care enough about your kid to worry about them, this probably isn't going to be your personal problem.
A few months ago her body was found. There was a thing on yahoo about it, and even as I clicked the link about how "missing girl in cali found" I knew it was going to be this girl. And it was.
She had been murdered, and they found the guy who did it, I believe.
The wide coverage of cases like this leads a lot of people to feel that these cases are increasing. They get scared, and no surprise.
But when you think about it, consider this: California is a big state. This girl had already been missing a long time when I was there, and longer, of course, when her body was found (just this past winter). And yet, when I clicked the link thinking "It's going to be the same girl who was missing this past summer" I was right.
There weren't so many notable cases of missing, probably abducted teenagers* that her name was buried in the mix, or that I was going to be surprised when I clicked the link. That is the fact to take away from this.
*The tragic thing, of course, is that there are plenty of missing teenagers who are probably runaways or "throwaways" whose parents or foster care just don't care. But there's no media storm about them... maybe because they're far more common than happy middle class kids who get picked up off the streets in SHOCKING cases. And not all of those kids end up happy when they're grown, with a few funny stories about their exotic past. At any rate, though, if you care enough about your kid to worry about them, this probably isn't going to be your personal problem.
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Date: 2010-05-19 10:46 pm (UTC)I'm very glad they caught him, but I think he shouldn't have been allowed out in the first place since he was already a convicted sex offender. And you are absolutely right -- it's all in how much money the parents are willing to sink into publicity, plus a few other details. *sternly suppresses self from rant about which kinds of cases get this kind of attention, Jonbenet and Toya Currie, etc., etc.*
Bluejay