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I'm not blaming the victim, young smart women fall prey to charmers everyday.

Maybe it's time to start blaming the victims. Not for their murders but for being sooooo stupid.

Woman leaving bars with strangers.
Telling robbers, "What are you going to do? Shoot me?"
Meeting strangers on the internet.
Jogging in parks at night

You get the idea.

Time to start "streetproofing" our young women.

Gavin de Becker book "The Gift Of Fear" should be required reading in high schools.

BTW - met my husband online ;> (lawyer, republican, a mighty fine catch)

- Tim's Bella

From what I read and heard she left with 3 men she had grown to know. They dropped her off at her hotel. They are not being questioned now. The two men now classified as "suspicious" are two other men, who were security guards at a nearby hotel that was being rennovated. It has not been said she went willingly with them, so I don't understand any criticism at all about this victim. Perhaps they snatched her before she got to her room or something.

However, (and I know I received lots of criticism about this before when my daughter was in school) I never let my daughter travel out of the country with any group. Nor, go to the Florida beaches at "Spring break" with friends. It was a tough battle sometimes. But her life was more precious to me than allowing her to do those things.

Experiences are wonderful, but I felt that when kids are far from home, without their families, they are more vunerable. Especially young girls who are always prey - at home or away. However, at least I tried to eliminate any extra possibilities of harm coming to her because she was out of the country without family. I know millions of kids do this without mishap and had wonderful experiences and supervision. And thousands study at colleges, etc. overseas. A friend of mine is a teacher who accompanied teens to Europe for many summers with a very well-recognized and respected travel group. I know of no mishaps, and she did an excellent job supervising them. I just never felt comfortable about allowing my daughter to travel in a group, even with chaperones, to distances far away on lengthy trips. If I could not take her to places to expand her knowledge of the world, then she didn't go. She had an opportunity to be a "nanny" for a family who was traveling, and I still objected. She resented my stubborness often, but understands it now that she is a mother.

The case of Jessica Lundsford does come to mind - the little Florida girl abducted by that animal who lived across the street from her. So I realize it can happen anywhere because the world is full of creeps. But, I just could not imagine allowing my teenage daughter being in a group that was/is, obviously, going to be recognized (and perhaps watched/targeted) as a bunch of kids without their parents. To me that just added another element of danger, and introduced the possibility of so many complications that come when children are of the country.