We were all delighted and astonished to hear of the rescue of 29-year-old Jaycee Dugard after being held by her captor for more than 18 years. She was kidnapped in 1991 at age 11 by Philip Garrido, who had held her until August. Her safe return, along with that of her two daughters that were fathered by Garrido during her captivity, was nothing short of miraculous.
However, I find part of the media's reaction to this stirring event a little disturbing. In the weeks since Jaycee's rescue, they have trotted out one set of parents after the other to talk about their hopes for seeing their own long-missing son or daughter returned as well. They seem to think that Jaycee's return is a reason to believe that this is possible. I fear that these people – egged on by the media – are holding out false hopes and lying to themselves.
Now, is it possible that another child who has been missing for a number of years can also return? Well … yeah … it's possible. But it's also possible that any one of us could win the lotto. Actually, there's probably a better chance that any of these grieving parents will win the Mega Millions or Powerball jackpot than that they will ever see their missing child again. In others words, the chances are infinitesimal.
Despite what they might want to believe and the media might want us to think, Jaycee's return did not change those odds one iota. Her rescue was an isolated incident. It was a one-in-a-billion event that will ultimately have no impact on the status of anyone else's missing child. I'm sorry if I seem a bit negative or cynical here, but that's just the reality of the situation. Someone has to play the part of the little boy who points out to the emperor that he's walking around buck naked.
Think about it for a minute. Off the top of your head, can you name another child who returned safely after being taken by a stranger more than five years earlier? Go ahead, think real hard. Think until steam comes out of your ears if you would like. There may be cases like this, but most of us would have to do some research to uncover them. My point is that events like this are extremely rare and will remain that way. To believe otherwise is to have false hope. Of course, some people would say that false hope is better than no hope at all. I say it ain't.
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, amateur political analyst, and blogger from Virginia, USA. He posts a least one article a day to his blog - http://commenterry.blogs.com - on subjects such as current events, politics, technology, society and culture, religion, health and well-being, self improvement, personal finance, trivia, and sports.
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Terry, I know the odds are against these heart-broken families. However, I think since DNA tests did not exist years ago, perhaps some of the DNA could be matched against certain individuals or sex predators. I am not an expert at this, but Jane Valez-Mitchell has mentioned this. Fran Larson
Carl, you knew this off the top of your head without looking it up? You get a gold star for today. :-) What were the circumstances and how long ago did this occur?
» left by CarlK from Los Angeles (6 days 18 hours ago.)
Yes, I did get it off of the top of my head, although I had to look it up to get the spelling of her name right.
She was kidnapped by a stranger in 1998 and escaped her captor in 2006. Her captor, upon discovering that she had fled, committed suicide by jumping in front of a train.
Another example is Steven Stayner, who was kidnapped by a stranger in 1972 and escaped, along with another newly kidnapped child in 1980.
Another example comes to mind (although this one doesn't meet your criteria that it was a "stranger-abduction") of Aric Austin who was kidnapped by his non-custodial father in 1981 and was recovered 21 years later based on investigation of a student loan application based on a fraudulent birth certificate and a subsequent review of NCMEC composite drawings. (BTW, although I recalled the circumstances off the top of my head, I needed Google to get his name. )
In point, I agree with you. These odds are extremely long and these occurrences very rare. However, (just off the top of my head), there was another boy, Shawn Hornbeck, who was found with his abductor after a pretty long time, I think more than 5 years. He was found when his abductor decided Shawn was too old and went for another child. After about a week of intense searching, authorities found the second boy and in the process discovered Shawn living, much like Jaycee, in a resigned fashion with his abuser.
Here's the thing - when should a parent give up? If there's no body and no hard evidence of murder, who's to say a parent even CAN give up? If one of my children disappeared under these circumstances, could I give up? I don't know if I ever could stop looking and hoping and praying...
Jean, you are right about the Shawn Hornbeck case. Another reader also pointed this out (See CarlK's second comment above).
I apologize if I sounded more cynical that I really am. I should have been more clear. When I said I didn't believe false hope was better than no hope at all, I didn't mean to imply that I thought no hope at all was better than a little "flicker of hope" (as Lisa puts it below). There's nothing wrong with holding on to that, as long as one is realistic.
The problem is here is that the media seems to be manipulating these people into believing the chances of seeing their lost kids again are much higher than they really are. I see that as a kind of exploitation for ratings.
I think that you make a very obvious point, however you also need to understand that people who have lived in despair for years may find comfort in this flicker of hope. If anything ever happened to one of my children (God forbid), I know I would continue to cling to the possibility that maybe someday...even if the odds were stacked completely against it.
My girlfriend's brother was kidnapped by a terrorist group in Turkey, that was quite a number of years ago. They kidnapped him because he taught English. This was the PKK, the same terrorist group you've heard about in the news lately, and they represent the Kurdish movement in Turkey.
I can tell you she did not speak in terms of "the odds", nor did she speak in terms of her brother as deceased. I learned that the hard way! Opinions are a dime a dozen, but what I'd really like to read is an article by a family member of a kidnap victim.
Greg, aren't you going to tell us the rest of the story? Was he ever released? You've gotten my curiousity up now, so I'd like to know.
Like I told Jean, there's nothing wrong with holding on to a little hope, as long as one is realistic. The problem is here is that the media seems to be manipulating some parents into believing the chances of seeing their lost kids again are much higher than they really are. I see that as a kind of exploitation for ratings.
The rest of the story is that the family continues to this day to hope for the best. That is the story. I'm sure they would do anything, even appear on television, if it inflated their hopes, no matter how many years have passed. Incidentally, this person was the subject of an Amnesty International effort some years ago. One learns the hard way to not punch holes in the hopes of their loved ones.
how are you, mate? Great to see your controversial side.
It is all good, freedom of speech is a wonderful thing! It opens issues up for debate.
Down here, there is a missing boy, his name is Daniel Morcombe, his parents have not given up hope.
They have spent a great deal of money, time and effort and fully utilized the media. There seems to me, that there is less sensationalism and more compassion, down here, in regards to such a sensitive an issue as this.
Maybe the media learnt it's lesson from the Azaria Chamberlain debacle? Maybe it hasn't.
I do agree with you, in some respects, however, media coverage on old cases can sometimes yield new clues. If a case is solved, for better or worse, there is some form of closure for these grieving families. Hope and faith hold power, one prays that God see and hears. Imagine, if you can, being a parent, whose child is lost.
When do you give up hope? Is there a prescribed period? A year? Two years? 10? Do you have kids? If so, and if one went missing, when would you give up hope?
Let's face it, let us get real, aside from the media's grab for ratings, if one child does get home because of sensationalism, isn't it worth it?
Child protection laws in Australia are being drafted and redrafted, due to public outcry, driven and fed by the media.
Like it or not, love them or hate them, the media has a place in society.
These parents have hope, with or without the media. They are not lying to themselves, on the contrary, they are being true to themselves, afterall, they are mums and dads for the rest of they're lives. They will always hope.
Kian, you have good points. I just hate to see media sensationalism drive stuff like hysteria, zealotry, vigilanteism, and incorrect conclusions. I prefer common sense and clear, rational thinking over decisions based on emotion reaction.
» left by Hannah Quinn from Australia (4 days 10 hours ago.)
G'day Terry,
Although I agree with the parent's points of view above, and I'd never give up hope either, I understand your point about the media 'making the most of people's misery'. It happens here, too, (Aust) but perhaps not to the same extent as in your country. The media have been very helpful in the Daniel Morcombe case. They definitely have a role to play, as long as they play it fairly for all concerned and not just 'use' desperate family's hope and distress. As for raising false hope, I can understand how just hearing the story in the first place would do that for parents of missing children, but I agree that the Jaycee Dugard case does not make it more probable that other children will one day surface. It's truly amazing that this girl was found, with many factors being serendipitous.
As to the Azaria Chamberlain case here, a nine week old girl taken by a dingo at Uluru (Ayres Rock) in Central Australia in 1981, the media went berserk and convicted the mother almost from the start, and most of the population followed. It's unimaginable what that family went through, and still go through in the aftermath of not only losing their baby but helping the older children cope and the breakdown of the marriage; plus the mother served time (four years I think) in prison before she was finally and rightfully released.
Perhaps this is why the media is doing a better job now in such cases than they did, however, I'm sure they would go stupid all over again in the 'right' circumstances.
It's always nice to get new readers from Australia. Thanks for your comments and the additional information. It seems that we agree on many issues.
I don't want parents to completely give up hope for their lost children either, but I also hate to see the media expoit them for ratings by making them think the chances of seeing their children again are much higher than they really are. Seeing desperate people used and taken advantage of is a hot-button issue for me.
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