9 year old girl presumed kidnapped after parents found dead.

[iamwiz82]

link

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Argh - what a ghastly crime. I don't think these kinds of offenses are really becoming more prevalent, but there have definitely been a lot of them reported in recent months.

 

[SaltBoy]

Good grief.

One year it's too many shark attacks, another year it's too many kidnappings.

 

[toant103]

heard about this on this radio this morning.

I'm not to far from Bassett, VA.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: SaltBoy
Good grief.

One year it's too many shark attacks, another year it's too many kidnappings.

That is an interesting phenomenon - in 2001, "the summer of the shark attack," the total number of attacks was the same as it had been in 2000 in the US, and was actually lower than the previous year internationally. The high-visibility attack on Jesse Arbogast, the boy whose arm was bitten off, in July 2001 led to more reporting of attacks generally, giving the public the impression there was a swell of attacks. Similarly, I don't know that these kidnap incidents are actually on the rise - it may just be that they are being more widely reported.

 

[mchammer187]

saw it on the local news

1 state away from here

i have a brother, a sister and 2 nieces(sp?) that live in VA

 

[cavingjan]

I saw the Amber Alert last night on NBC4. Didn't realize until this morning that the location was all the way down near Roanoke.

Statistics for shark attacks and kidnappings and the like really aren't changing. Its just what the media is reporting from one year to other.

 

[spanky]

jeebuz there is a lot of voilence going down in america these days.

 

[mchammer187]

actually say an amber alert for that also when i was watching tv

kinda neat how they use the emergency broadcast system broadcast it all over the news, radio and highway minutes after a reported kidnapping

 

[Sketcher]

Not to in any way discount or lessen the trajedy of even one child or adult abused, abducted, murdered -

But FBI, NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) and other national statistics gathering show that the frequency of child abductions is actually declining(.pdf) from recent years. Each agency or organization uses different methods and demographics to poll their results, but the numbers show consistently that crimes of this nature are actually lessening in frequency.

Sensational Media coverage gives a false impression of the statistical frequency. The crime of child abduction though is one that I believe benefits from responsible exposure through media. People are watching and paying closer attention to their children. The nation as a whole is looking again at the welfare (not just safety) and health of our youth. We have and are implementing warning systems such as Amber, which is an incredible step in the right direction. To this end, it is important and necessary that the reality of crime impact us throught he media.

But already you see survivors of abductions showing up on grocery store magazine racks. Even Jerry Springer is cashing in on the sensationalism of child abduction. There's certainly a line that should be drawn somewhere before we become desensitized to even this. But that line won't be drawn until ratings drop and the horror doesn't fascinate as readily.

Shark attacks (not a comparison to child abduction) have sensationally hit the mainstream paranoia crowd due to irresponsible media coverage, but it's not entirely the viewers fault. When *cough* reputable publications like Time *bullsh*t magazine post headlines that are not consistent with statistics - it just shows yet another venue where the ratings and dollars to some, justify exploiting the sensibilities of others.

Child abduction though... Before I became a Father, it sickened me to hear of children being abused in any form. Now that I have children of my own, I'm horrified to think someone could be so evil. There are not adequate words to express the rage that I feel towards those who do this.