MICHAEL DEVLIN: Suspect is called 'kind of a plain guy'
By Jeremy Kohler
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/13/2007
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/0E83AD48E8060BAF862572620021671A?OpenDocument
Nick Trentmann of Kirkwood said his first thought was that it was a "very un-Kirkwoodlike thing to happen here." Even though Kirkwood is a suburb of St. Louis, it still retains a small-town feel, he said, and that makes something like this seem unusual.
He was initially concerned about the thought of Kirkwood getting "a bad name" in the national media. But "that's not what it is, it's one guy," he said. "It's not what Kirkwood is."
Still, the fact that the two boys and their alleged abductor were found here was a somber reminder that potential threats can be found anywhere.
"We take it easy. We don't pay attention," Smith said. "Because we do pride ourselves (that) we're a quiet neighborhood. We're a loving family neighborhood. We have all middle class America here. I think that puts blinders on our eyes sometimes."