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They were looking for Elizabeth, not for the perpetrator, and they probably weren't at all sure that it wasn't some sort of sneaking out situation. Most of them probably didn't hear a lot of details before they ran out searching. If Elizabeth had been kidnapped to be raped, she would quite likely have still been around -- rape victims are often grabbed, taken to the nearest secluded spot, raped, and left there. Charlotte Hansen would still have been lying in her backyard 3-4 hours later, if someone hadn't heard her cries for help sooner (and doctors expressed some amazement that she was able to make the cries she did, given the colossal trauma to her face, head, and mouth).

They were looking for Elizabeth, not for the perpetrator, and they probably weren't at all sure that it wasn't some sort of sneaking out situation. Most of them probably didn't hear a lot of details before they ran out searching. If Elizabeth had been kidnapped to be raped, she would quite likely have still been around -- rape victims are often grabbed, taken to the nearest secluded spot, raped, and left there. Charlotte Hansen would still have been lying in her backyard 3-4 hours later, if someone hadn't heard her cries for help sooner

I have to disagree -- if it is indeed true that Ed Smart reported a possible kidnapping with weapon to the LE right away. Do you really think 40 to 50 neighbors would run out in the middle of the night to just look for a kid who "sneaked out" for a while?

There is no way to compare Liz's disappearance with the Hansen rape. A vastly different home scenario. If that was the M.O., it would have been far easier for a perpetrator to grab her while she was jogging, or after school, or a multitude of much easier venues.

They were looking for Elizabeth, not for the perpetrator...

Excellent point. Most people have heard of the Kitty Genovese case, if not by name, at least as "that woman in NY who was murdered while 30 people peeped out their windows but did nothing." People want to help, and people want to have the satisfaction of saving someone if they can. And they were on familiar ground, in their own neighborhood. I walk my dog at very late hours sometimes, in my own neighborhood, but I wouldn't walk around that late in a place I wasn't familiar with. I know it's not entirely safe, but I do know all the escape routes!