Free Republic

(CNSNews.com) - An 11-year-old Missouri boy disappeared outside of his home late Sunday afternoon a week ago, while riding his bicycle. Shawn Hornbeck's father, Craig Akers, says he won't give up hope, but some wonder if the establishment media has given up on its high profile coverage of child abductions. Charles Pickett, a senior case manager at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), suspects the media has overlooked the Hornbeck case because of his unattractive rural upbringing. But that wasn't the case when 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was taken from her upscale home at gunpoint June 5th, Pickett...

The Other Side Hollie L. Moody (August 18th, 2002) I was in the Spirit and found myself with the Lord beside a large body of water. The sun was shining and I felt that it was the middle of the day. There was a small, but sturdy looking, wooden ship pulled up on the sand next to the Lord and I. I watched as the Lord pushed the boat into the shallows and stepped into it. He then held His right hand out to me. "Come with Me to the other side," the Lord said to me. I placed my...

My office reverie was broken the other day by "Breaking News" on CNN: A man in California named David Westerfield had been convicted of murdering a neighborhood girl named Danielle van Dam.Readers should understood that, in the bureau where I work, every desk (including mine) is outfitted with a television. So, as the afternoon wore on, CNN's familiar "Breaking News" logo was seen in multiple, flickering images as the network stuck to the story. There were scenes from Westerfield's trial, videotapes of Danielle, talking heads, shots of the victim's family, views of the crush of reporters outside the courthouse By...

Oak Park children kept inside after abduction attemptBy Deborah EnsorUNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER July 18, 2002Most days, children of all ages run around the courtyards of a sprawling Oak Park apartment complex. They dash in and out of one another's homes, play video games, goof off with their friends. But yesterday, no children were out playing. Hardly anyone was outside.All afternoon, school buses dropped off many of the 300 children who live here, but within minutes they were gone, spending a beautiful sunny day inside because their parents were afraid for their safety.Afraid because, on Tuesday, someone tried to snatch an...

The Oregon City apartment complex where Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis disappeared has yielded new clues that lead investigators to believe the two girls are still alive. The FBI would not describe the evidence that a search dog found over the weekend in the dense woods that surround the complex. But agents said the find encourages them that they are closer to finding the missing girls. Federal agents have launched a nationwide search for the two girls. America's Most Wanted highlighted the case late Saturday, asking a nationwide audience for help finding Ashley and Miranda. Investigators now believe the disappearances...