[Sir Gawain]

I always wonder why certain missing children get elevated to celebrity status above others.

[homeschool mama]

**I always wonder why certain missing children get elevated to celebrity status above others. **

Excuse me?!

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

I mentioned this before on the other thread. Most child abductions are at the hands of warring parents or relatives. They usually don't make the headlines. Stranger abductions are rare, and ones where an intruder breaks into a home and steals a child at gunpoint are even more rare. I think the ones that make headlines do so because of the circumstances surrounding them, not because one child is more important than another. All children are important.

[Darlin']

"I always wonder why certain missing children get elevated to celebrity status above others"

I don't think that is exactly accurate. It isn't a matter of some being elevated to "celebrity status" , but rather the circumstances of the abduction that captures the public's imagination and generates a greater or more intense level of nationwide media coverage.

[freedox]

"I always wonder why certain missing children get elevated to celebrity status above others."

I overheard something on Fox News today that addresses this issue. I'm not sure who was being interviewed, but the woman stated that immediate media attention is only granted in cases that meet 4 specific criteria. I didn't catch all of the criteria, but apparently such things as runaways do not qualify. In this case, it would appear that the 9 year old's story of the alleged gunman was a significant determining factor in obtaining nationwide publicity for this family.