How many other kids are missing? How many others murdered?

[proud2BlibKansan]

I am in Kansas City and this Kelsey Smith story has been EVERYWHERE since 5 minutes after she went missing Saturday.

Yet there is a girl same age who has been missing from another part of KC for 2 weeks now. The media has ignored that story.

A family at my school has a child who has been missing 6 months. Where is the media on that story?

Why do some kids and families in crisis get media attention while others are ignored?

[babylonsister]

1. Did they have any video of the other children missing? I'm thinking

that's what spurred Smith's story on. Either that, or they needed a time-filler (no disrespect meant).

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. I don't know

This story was odd. I am wondering if she had a friend or a family member who works for the media since they had pounced on the story so fast.

I talked to a friend last night who knows the family and she said Kelsey's dad is a conservative and active in local Republican party politics. She said he is pretty outspoken. So we wondered if he had made noise.

[Blue_Roses]

15. sorry...

but good grief:eyes: I don't think whether her father is conservative or not had anything to do with the coverage. I didn't know about it until I read it on the internet day before yesterday. I didn't even hear it on the news here in Texas (naming msnbc and cnn as sources). No, I think alot of the coverage of this exploded with the videos that were put out to try and catch this guy. Also, her dad being a cop is more of a reason for the "coverage" probably than his "conservatism" if that be the case. However, I don't think either of those is the case. I think it has more to do with a clearer picture of what the public could do to help.

The other person, Kara Kopetsky http://www.topix.net/city/belton-tx/2007/05/where-is-kara-kopetsky

is being looked at a possible link, so this is something that HAS brought light to her story. I think her story got lost in the Democratic shuffle of the Iraq spending vote. Between that and Falwell's death, and Cindy Sheehan quiting, it's no wonder it got lost in the news pile.

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. When did I say her father's politics had anything to do with this?

And unless you are in KC you have no idea how much media coverage this story has received. Yesterday afternoon, they pre-empted most afternoon programming to cover the search where they eventually found her body. The night before, they pre-empted evening programming to show the video tapes of her walking into and out of a store for the kazillionth time.

Sorry but this is way overkill. There are literally hundreds of missing kids in this area. My question remains - why so much attention for this ONE case?

[hfojvt]

29. I think all of the KC tv stations have huge news crews and budgets

They seem to compete to get the 'late breaking' and 'only on 5' stories. For example, that big warehouse fire. The fire department just contained it and was letting it burn out, but every single KC tv station covered it from about 3 o'clock, until at least 6:30, even though NOTHING NEW was happening! They all pre-empted the national news to keep showing us the fire. They did the same thing in May for a storm that was in Grain Valley and moving away from KC. Every single station pre-empted the national news to keep talking about that storm. Granted, that is part of your viewing area, but it is not a concern for the bulk of your viewing area. A station that had switched to the national news probably would have buried the others in the ratings. It seems to be a KC thing when they get a 'big' story. As for why this story became big when others similar stories did not, I think the Smith family made that happen. They had the attitude that 'we are going to find her - and soon'. Getting the fliers, organizing searches and calling for volunteers, being available for the media. I am not sure the other families did that.

[proud2BlibKansan]

35. We do have lousy TV news here

But when I travel, I see even lousier stations in other cities.

[Jed Dilligan]

32. Coverage after she's known to be dead

can only hurt the family in mourning.

My guess is they are mass-producing footage to resell to the nationwide media.

[youthere]

2. I don't know why they do that...

It doesn't make sense to me. I suppose it might have something to do with the camera footage they have...makes it more dramatic for the news. I just pray they are ALL found safe.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Yes I pray that as well.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Report: 39 People Disappear in US Custody

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060707K.shtml
Six human rights groups on Wednesday released a list of 39 people they believe have been secretly imprisoned by the United States and whose whereabouts are unknown, calling on the Bush administration to abandon such detentions.

[Bjornsdotter]

6. I think

...it's because of the videotape. They had a picture of the man who they felt was responsible, similar to that girl in Florida.

However, that does not explain why the other cases are totally ignored.

Cheers

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. Don't most retail stores have security cameras?

I am willing to bet we can find surveillance tapes of many missing persons if we looked hard enough.

[Bjornsdotter]

12. Not all

and not all missing people are taken from stores or places with a video hook-up.

Here's a missing person story from my small town, from a store....no video.



Do I believe someone in this town knows....absolutely, in fact I believe the owners of the store have a real good idea who did it.


http://cbs2chicago.com/coldcase/local_story_049185016.html

Cold Case Mystery in a Small Town
Brian Carrick Was 17 When He Disappeared And Still No Trace of Him Years Later
Get breaking news alerts
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Jim Williams
Reporting

(CBS) Johnsburg, Ill. Blood on the floor and blood on the box are clues in the disappearance of Brian Carrick. But were they discovered too late?

A small town's deadly secret is a cold case mystery complete with a teenager who vanishes from work, never to be seen again.

This is the story of Brian Carrick.

"Losing a child leaves a whole in your heart that will never close," said Terry Carrick, Carrick's mother.

On December 20, 2002 Brian Carrick disappeared.

"I just had a gut feeling something was wrong," Carrick said.

But a missing 17-year-old didn't send off many alarms, until police made a gruesome discovery.

"Blood on the floor, blood on the boxes, blood splattered," recalls Johnsburg Police Chief Ken Rydberg.

That blood was found in a produce freezer at Val's Foods in Johnsburg where Brian worked as a stock boy.

A day after he disappeared, another worker discovered the pool of blood. But a manager who reportedly believed the blood came from meat and was unaware that Brian was missing, told him to mop it up.

It was cleaned up at least twice before the police were told about any blood in the cooler.

DNA results determined the blood belonged to Brian, but after chasing hundreds of leads and interviewing dozens of people, police have reached a dead end.

Four years later and there are no arrests and no body. Although presumed dead, Brian has never been found.

There are 14 children in the Carrick family; Brian is the youngest boy. Four older brothers served in the military, including one in Iraq. Back then, Terry Carrick told CBS 2, she had a fear of 'missing in action.' She said she didn't expect something like that to happen in her back yard.

The ordeal has taken a toll on the family. Some siblings find it difficult to visit the family home.

"I can't blame them," said Carrick. "It's not a pleasant sight to look across the street to the store everyday knowing that somebody through maliciousness or viciousness or whatever reason took a 17-year-old's life."

Community support has been tremendous. Some 1,000 people showed up at a vigil held in the bitter cold shortly after Brian disappeared.

The family believes more than one person is keeping this horrible secret.

"Oh, I believe there's several people who know what happened," Carrick said. "Don't be a snitch. That's not the way life works. We are our brother's keepers," added Carrick.

And police say a little more information could finally crack this case.

"We're just waiting for that one link to fall in place," said Rydberg. "I made a promise to Terry Carrick that this would be on our minds all the time and to this day it still is."

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. Oh how sad

:cry:

[Contrary1]

34. I am an Area Director for the Doe Network...

and spend time everyday trying to link the missing with the unidentified.
It sounds like this young man was murdered. I will use my resources and
see if I can find this family some closure.

[Bjornsdotter]

39. Omg

...that would be wonderful! :hug:

I hate to say that most people here also think Brian's life ended prematurely, but it does appear that way.

Cheers

[myrna minx]

40. Thank you for your work.

My god, I just can't imagine the sorrow these families must go through.

[porphyrian]

7. Because the corporate media decides what is worthy for your consumption.

And they make that decision based on what they think will keep an audience's attention longest. It has nothing to do with the value of the story beyond its dollar value. However, because of this, the racist and classist biases inherent in our society manifest in what holds our collective viewing attention longest, and thus in what stories we are fed.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Bingo!!

[WinkyDink]

10. If you are complaining about the one, would you not also complain about the many?

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. I AM complaining about the many that are NOT given

widespread media coverage.

[GeorgeGist]

13. Apparently they have found her body ...

so you needn't be concerned any longer.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. They found her body yesterday

You'd have to be unconscious not to know that if you live in this area.

[laureloak]

14. Some news stories grow legs, others don't

Your whining that not ALL similar stories make headlines will only work against all victims so why don't you just find something better to do with your time. So what if one incident make headlines and the others don't. Do you really expect 24/27 news to be about missing children? Be glad that occasionally a story surfaces and makes us all aware of the dangers out there. If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem.

[RB TexLa]

16. They interrupt the radio with those alerts everytime one is hiding under the sink and such

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. I am about over the whole Amber Alert program

90% of the time it is a parental abduction.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. Would you feel that way if your child was missing?

I doubt it.

[laureloak]

33. Did you even read my post or the OP? Of course not.

[proud2BlibKansan]

36. I started this thread so I wrote the OP

[onenote]

17. do you have any other information on the child missing from your school?

Is it a suspected runaway? Abduction? Domestic dispute? Are there posters? What is the family of the missing child doing to raise awareness?

If its a family from your school, presumably there is some information.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. The family says she would never have run away.

They have reported her missing but the police have done very little to find her.

[onenote]

31. Has the family posted pictures of her, handed out fliers, gone to the local media?

That is often what happens in disappearance cases and it can be effective in raising the case's profile.

[proud2BlibKansan]

37. Yes they have

[Mr. Ected]

24. Generally Speaking, Good Looking White People, Especially Kids

Get all the media coverage in a tragic situation such as this.

I've thought the same thing as the OP many a time.

Kelsey Smith was young, vibrant, pretty and white. Mainstream America related to her and to her family.

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. She's our own Natalee Holloway

[Joe Fields]

28. Bingo!

[MountainLaurel]

25. Culture and priorities

Nine times out of a 10, when a child goes missing, a family member is involved. Same for murder, if memory serves correctly. This country has a long history of just ignoring domestic crimes, considering them to be a "family matter."

[johnnie]

27. Many go missing each day

In most cases, the authorities know who took the child. Yesterday while people here were discussing this, some people posted some missing persons cases and most of them had something along the lines as "so and so is believed to be with so and so".

I know that in my area, they will report any missing child no matter their class, race or gender. We have some high profile cases here right now and they aren't rich, blond-haired, blue-eyed girls.

The case you are mentioning here was probably because they basically saw her abduction and acted on it quick to get the information out. I didn't hear about this case until yesterday when they found her body. *That* is what made the national news more than her disappearance.

[proud2BlibKansan]

38. Her dad is a cop

Just read that in the paper.

That explains the heavy law enforcement presence from the beginning.

[nonconformist]

30. Honestly, it's probably because of the video footage

Americans are "visual", as you know, so that makes for a more compelling, dramatic story. And I'm not completely cynical, so I also think it got a lot of attention at first because time was of the essence and they needed to get that footage out there of the kidnapper.

I think that when things like this happen and become huge news stories, people become invested in the case. So even when it's no longer a desperate attempt to find someone (victim or kidnapper), it develops into a human interest story. People want follow-up on the story that they have become emotionally attached to.

It's not right that other cases get zero attention and others get excessive amounts, but the media isn't simply the media anymore. It's ratings and entertainment driven.