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I think that it is a combination of things.

For one thing, the "Mormon" community in Utah is VERY close-knit, and the furor and hubbub surrounding this incident was quite a thing to see.

Second, it happened as part of a string of similar child-nabbings.

Third, there were so many bizarre twists to the tale (Mary Katherine saw the guy, Ricci, the sighting in Iowa of a girl in a minivan, etc.)

Fourth, the Smarts played the media very, very well. They wouldn't let people forget.

Anyone who says that she wasn't "special" and that these kinds of abductions go on all too frequently are VERY correct. But it is all in how you play the media.

There are still many children missing, and I pray that at least some of them might return to their loved ones as Elizabeth did. For the others, may the Lord bless and keep them wherever they are, in this world or the next.

ILLbay....that is the nicest post you ever did.....

wonderful sentiment as well.....

There are still many children missing, and I pray that at least some of them might return to their loved ones as Elizabeth did. For the others, may the Lord bless and keep them wherever they are, in this world or the next.

Amen!

There are still many children missing, and I pray that at least some of them might return to their loved ones as Elizabeth did. For the others, may the Lord bless and keep them wherever they are, in this world or the next.

There have been two cases in the Charlotte, NC, area alone in the last 5 years ..... or at least 2 cases that received wide-spread publicity.

Kristen Modafferi's mom will 'always have hope' for daughter's return
03/13/2003
By STERLIN BENSON WEBBER / 6NEWS
Kristen Modafferi
It was a happy ending for the parents of Elizabeth Smart after their 15-year-old daughter was found alive nine months after her disappearance, but the Modafferi family of Charlotte is one of countless families still hoping to find their missing children.
"To hear the story about Elizabeth being found and being found alive and well, we're extremely happy for the family, we're very, very happy for them," said Debbie Moddafferi, Kristen’s mother.
Kristen, 18, disappeared five years ago while working in San Francisco for the summer after her freshman year in college.
"There's not a day or an hour that goes by that we don't think about Kristen," Debbie said.

Kristen Modafferi is Still Missing .... a web site that will tell you much about her and the search for her

This next one is particularly heartbreaking to me ....

Smart case gives hope to Cleveland County detective working Asha Degree disappearance
03/13/2003
By ANN SHERIDAN / 6NEWS
Asha Degree
SHELBY, N.C. -- The Elizabeth Smart case has brought hope and belief that miracles do happen to other families of missing children.
Wayne Thomas is thousands of miles from Salt Lake City but he can't stop reading about the Smart case. Thomas is a detective with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office.
For three years he has combed through the files, led the searches and said the prayers, hoping to find now 12-year-old Asha Degree alive.
Asha disappeared three years ago on Valentines Day from her home in Cleveland County. Just days ago Thomas followed new leads and new hope, but came up short.

.....

Apparently Asha was angry with her mother and snuck out of the house in the wee hours of the morning. They think that someone passing by in a car saw her, walking along a state road, during the night. She has not been seen or heard from since then though a bookbag with her name and address was found in August 2001, miles away from her home.

Asha Degree still missing ..... a site with more info about Asha

Lucky thing that Tom Smart, an uncle, is a well-known photographer for the Deseret News......