# Kidnappings in the news **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2002, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidnappings-in-the-news/120966 "2002-07-26T17:21:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Space\_Vampire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Space\_Vampire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vampire)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidnappings-in-the-news/120966/1 "2002-07-26T17:21:59Z")
Seems like every day there’s something about girls being kidnapped or found safe. Is this some bizarre, coincidental rash of kidnappings, or merely a cynical attempt by the news media to cover their asses on the mutterings that they only cover the kidnappings and murders of the rich? I guess this went in IMHO because none of us can know without inside sources, but the latter seems far more likely. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidnappings-in-the-news/120966/2 "2002-07-26T18:22:06Z")
Oddly enough, Space Vampire, I was thinking about this too - and one of my favorite columnists wrote about it yesterday. [http://www.suntimes.com/output/roeper/cst-nws-roep25.html](http://www.suntimes.com/output/roeper/cst-nws-roep25.html) Oh yeah - to answer your question, I don’t know. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidnappings-in-the-news/120966/3 "2002-07-26T18:53:40Z")
**My theory:** the gov’t. is sending Dick Cheney around the U.S. to kidnap small, photogenic girls, to keep the nation’s mind off the financial scandals and the “war on terror.” And he would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for that meddling kid in Philadelphia and her strong teeth! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidnappings-in-the-news/120966/4 "2002-07-26T19:00:29Z")
Yeah, and it’s only little girls. You never hear about little boys getting kidnapped. What’s with that? ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidnappings-in-the-news/120966/5 "2002-07-26T19:05:27Z")
Kidnappings are this summer’s shark attacks. I would be very surprised if there was actually a significant increase in the amount of missing children this year. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidnappings-in-the-news/120966/6 "2002-07-26T19:10:08Z")
All I gotta add is: Stay the hell away from my kid or I’ll plant a size 10 1/2 boot in your ass and administer high-speed lead therapy to your temples! * * * She told me she loved me like a brother. She’s from Arkansas, hence the Joy! ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidnappings-in-the-news/120966/7 "2002-07-26T19:48:24Z")
I think the VanDamme (sp?) and the Smart cases simply caused a bit of a hunger for kidnapping news. The high profile nature of the first case or two simply snowballed, so now you have journalists all over the country scouring the wires for kidnapping stories across the nation. There aren’t more kidnappings this year (although the two in-home snatchings were an anomaly, and their oddity was what sparked the original fire), the media is just doing a more thorough job of finding the stories and publicizing them nationally. So while a Chicago girl being kidnapped might not have made the news in Mainelast summer, this summer she’s a headliner. It’s how news reporting works because–altruistic truth-spreading motives aside–the media is a for-profit business. If they see a competitor’s story selling, they’re likely to want the scoop on a similar story of their very own. Nature of the beast, and all that. bella ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidnappings-in-the-news/120966/8 "2002-07-27T00:11:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElwoodCuse \* > \*\*Kidnappings are this summer’s shark attacks. > > I would be very surprised if there was actually a significant increase in the amount of missing children this year. \*\* I agree 100% ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidnappings-in-the-news/120966/9 "2002-07-27T00:59:59Z")
They aren’t on the rise, at least so sez CNN. [http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/07/24/ctv.missing/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/07/24/ctv.missing/index.html) I’ve heard parents who have this terrible thing happen to them are now being advised to try to get as much media attention as possible, as it increases the chances of getting the child back safely and catching the scum-bags. ---
**Author:** ![Turbo\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidnappings-in-the-news/120966/10 "2002-07-27T11:30:02Z")
There was another one a couple miles down the road from here yesterday. 6 year old girl taken from the home sometime between 2 AM and 6 AM. Creepy stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Kayeby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kidnappings-in-the-news/120966/11 "2002-07-27T15:49:37Z")
There was one in Australia where a 4 year old girl was taken and then released with the warning that the kidnappers would be back. I can’t imagine how terrified her parents must be.