_,t1r
.
/
lHE
Mayl~,
19b5-
Final
Edition•
AmontageforMother's
Day
Contemporary
L.A.
trounces
Nuggets139-122
Sports,Page1-C
DENVER
PoST
50
cents
withinColorado
Thetruth
utmissingkids
AbductionsinColoradoactuallyrare
By
LouisKilzer
DenverPas!SIaNwnterCopy/lyl11HJl:lS,
Hie
DeoeerP05tCorp.
,\1\
hough('olnradoparentsarewallinginune
11>
have.their
chil-dren
flilhcrpnnlpd
and
kidsacross
the
stateare1)ell1gtaughtthe"dangerofstrangers."la
w
en-forcementofficers
say
theycan
nndnuevtdence
of
widespreadab-
ducuons
III
Colorado.InIact.theactualcasesareso
rarethatsonic
(_',ffl\_'lals
believe
only
,J
handfulhappen
In
thestateeach
vvar
:\1
the
ColoradoBureau
ofIn·.,:(!SUgatlOll'Scrimetnlorrna-
uon
center.l1.u·I'ctorGrayBuckleycouldnotnamemorethanthreeca...sesintheslatewhereauthori-tiesbelieve
nussing
childrenwerekidnapped
by
strangers.
Ninety-
fivepercentofthe
missing
chil-dren
are
runaways,heestimated.TheproblemWIththeColorado
statistics
L~
that
the
"bulk"
figures
quoted
an'
so
alarminglylargeandtheknown
casesare
&J
fewthatoHinalsarehard-pressedto·ex-
plain
thedifferellce.At
nrs:
glance.Denverwouldappeartobeadangerousplaceforchildren.Therewere
1,579
missingchildren
reports
filedlastyear.Coloradoappearsequallythreaten,ing.TheColoradoBureauofInves-tigationrecorded
14,900
childrenasmissinglas!year.
PleaseeeeSTATEon.3-A
41Englishsoccerfans
perishin
fierystands
ByTheASSOCiatedPress
BRADFORD,England-Awind-drivenfireracedthroughawoodengrandstandholding3,500fansatasoccer
stadium
innorth-ernEnglandSaturday,killingatleast
41people
andinjuringaboutISO,policesaid,Millionsoftelevisionviewerswatchedfoolageofthetragedyasnamesandthickblacksmokeen,gulledthemaingrandstandofBradford'sValleyParadeGround
v.
tthin
fourminutes.Thesoccermatchwasbeingtapedforregionalbroadcasttoday,butscenesofthelirewereshownonnationaltelevisionnewscastswithin
minutes.
Viewerssawthesoccerlansstampedinglorexitsandstream-ingonto
the
fieldinpanic-somewiththeirclothesandhairon
Iire.
John
Dornaille,
assistantpolicechiel
01
WestYorkshire,toldanewsconlerencethat
40
werebe,lieveddeadand"thatfigurecouldrisebyanoddlew."PolicelaterPlease
seeFIRE
on
15-ADENVERcloudyandoccasronaibreezytoddy.chanceofraintoruqht.Highs:G
39-44.
Detailson
INDEX
Business
1-20F
Classilied
1-S2H
Crossword
[nlplre
Editorials
5·7G
Funerals13b
Housing
·1..30E
lively
Arts1-28D
Metro
1-14tl
Perspective
1-4,8G
Region
BB
Sperl.
I-1Be
Travel
1
,lOT
TheDenverPo::.1
!
BruceGaul
Exaggeratedstatisticsstirnationalparanoia
By
DianaGriegoandLouisKilzer
DenverPestS1attwntersCopyright1985.TheDenverPostCorp
Worryaboutrrussmgchildrenhasescalatedintoa
national
epi-
demic
01
learfueledbv
siausucs
thatlawenforcemento'UlcialssayareexaggeratedandDilendistort-
ed.
ThefacesofthemissIngstarebackatusfromtelevisionscreens,milkcartonsandsupermarketbul-leunboards.Variousgroupswarnusthatasmanyas
1.5
millionchildrendisap-peareachyearandthatstrangerskidnapasmanyas
50,000
ofthem.And,thegroupssay,asmanyas
4,000
childrenare
murdered
afterbeing
abducted.
Shocking?
It
shouldbe,becauselawenforcementofficials,joinedbyleadingmissing-childrenex-perts,
say
thesenumbersfarex,ceedtheactualcasestheyhavein-vestigated.'
One
missingchildistoomany.
Ano
thelamilytragedyofhavingachildkidnappedandmurderedcan,
not
bedilutedbynumbersofany
land.
Yet,itisthosenumbersthatareaffecUngthelivesofmillionsofparents,affectinghowtheyIeelabouttheirchildren'ssafetyandwhatthey
should
teachtheirchil-drenaboutthesocietythey
live
in.
"Parents
arescared.They
think
there'ssomeoneoneverystreetcomer
waning
tograbtheirchild,"said
Dr.
Jack
M
clnvoy,anAurorapsychologistwhospecializesin
1·-·-....------..----....--...--.--...
I
INSIDE
.Parenlsturn10chuo1
0
programs,Page
12A.
I
.CustodyfIghts.abductionsIlinked.Page13A.
i•
Thethreemissing
chudren
IfromColorado.Page13A.
I•
Many
rrussino
childrenare
I
runaways,Page13A
I•
Missing-childrenissue
I
tailor-madelorpohucians.Perspective,Page
1G.
.Doespublicityhelpthesearchformissmqchildren?
I
Perspective,Page
1G.
I_
MONDAY
.Thebusrnessofrmssrnq,children.
.A
DenverPostpollrevealseffect
of
mrssinq-childrencampargnonmetroDenv,,'.MissingChildrencaptivatethenewsmedia.
familyrelations,
"It's
malting
childrenparanoid,100.There'sadurerencebetween
healthyrespectandcaulionandwhat'sgoingonnow.
It's
nothealthyanymore.""There'satremendousscareon,"saidLouisMcCagg.director
01
ChildFind,thenation's
oldest
andbest-knownmissmgchildrenorganization,Onceastrong
sup-
Please
seeKIDS
on12-A
1,000employeesfaceloss
of
jobsinFrontier'snewownershipplan
By
Zeke
Scher
OenverPostBusinesswruer
Amanagementpropositiongiv-ingFrontierAirlines'employeesmajorityownership
01
theDenver-basedcarriercouldcostatleast
1,000
jobsbefcretheend
01
the
year,sourcessaidSaturday,AttorneysforfiveFrontierAir-linesunionsSaturdaywerestudy-ingasurprisingnewmanagementpropositionthatwouldawardtheemployeesmajorityownershipwithoutborrowingtolinancethe
deal.
Dreamofgoldhauntsminerfor
half
century
This
IS
theseventhin
a
seriesofSundayarticlesbyveteranDenverPostreporterJackKislingexaminingthelivesofColorado'slivingpioneers,themenandwomenwhobroughtthestate
intothe20lh
century.
By
JackKisling
DenverPostSIaNwnter
IDAliOSPRINGS-Justoverthehill
In
RussellGulchthere'sagoldminethatCharles"Chapo"Fetterhoffhasbeenhankering
to
get
to
thebottom
01
lorSOyears.It'sanoldandnotverybigmine,andChapo,whois
72
andstands5-leet-2,
will
admitwithagrinthatinthosetworespectshe
and
themineare
prettyevenly
matched.
HewasdubbedChapobyanIdahoSprings
mill
bossinthe
1930:;.
"'Chapo'
is
Spanishlor'short,'"
he
said,addingthat
his
small
stature
hasbeenanadvan-tageinmining,
"I
don'tbumpmyheadasmuchasthebigguys."liefirstsawthemineofhisdreamsin
19:14,
whIleworkingas
a
millingengineerinIdahoSprings,anditkindled
in
him
a
curiosity
that
burns
asbrightlytoday
as
it
did
ll<tlf
a
century
ago.
"!l's
been
stuckUImy
rrund
all
UM;C
years.I'venever
quit
thlnk-
ing
I
wanted
to
havealookdown
there."
Themine,calledthe
Hi
Dee,isinGilpinCounty,abouttwomiles
southwest
01
CentralCity.ILsclaimwaspatentedin
1896,and
itwaslirstownedbyaVirginialamilyandoperatedbyalocalmineforeman."The
stories
are
thatthe
lore-manwashigh..gradingonthem,butthereare
a
lot
01
storieslikethat."
(High-grading
is
smug-glingsmall,rich
chunks
01
ore
out
of
amine
without
tellingtheowners.)"Theshaltwas
nand-dug
andcribbedwilhz-by-is,"saidCha-
po.
"1
knowItproducedgold
m
theearly
19008
becauseIhave
re'
cordsofIt,and
I
haveplan
1I"'P>;
Pi__CHAPOoo14-Asominoowith
'old-timey
operation:
GenCorp
01
Ohiochairman
M.
GeraldO'Neilsubmittedhispropo-sitiontotheunionleadershipandtheirfinancialconsultantduringatwo-hourclosed-doormeetingFri-day.O'Neil,who
controls
45percent
01
Frontierstock,proposed
the
salewithaleasebackoption-byWednesday-of
25
Boeing737stoUnitedAirlines.RichardFerris,president
01
United,ollered$265millionlortheplanes,butsetaWednesdaydeadlineloraccept-ance
01
thedeal.
As
explainedbyO'Neil'slawyerstotheemployee
representatives.
the
$265
millionsaleproceedswotdd
be
usedtobuyoutall7,658stockholders,payolfsomecompa-nydebtand,
In
ellect,createanESOP(employeestock
ownership
plan)thatwouldgivethecompanytotheworkersandmanagement.Employeeswouldhave"majori-ty"control,theyweretoldFriday.Frontierreportedlyplanstoleaseall
25
planesIromUnited
Please
see
FRONTIER
on
14-A
Science,notthrills,
aim
ofCUPerutrek
By
Dana
Parsons
Denver
Post
St."
Writer
BOULDER-Inastone-walledbasementroomattheUniversity
01·
Colorado,two
scientlsts
areplanningtheexpeditionofalife,limeandwishingpeople
would
quitaskingthemaboutIndianaJones.ButifIndylived
in
Boulder,he'dbookpassageonthisone.Overtilenextseveralweeks,as
the
rainsslackenin
thejropical
forests
01
Peru,CUscientists
will
accompanyexpeditionaryteams
into
the
South
Americancountryinsearch
01
pre..
Incan
archaeological
ruins
andotherscientificsecrets,Bylootandby
muleback,
lip
anddowntheslope,
01
theAndesandthroughtheJunglehighlands,the
scienusts
williY:gill
to
make
goodon
theurst
part
01
aIive-
yearagreement
between
CU
andthe
Peruvian
gllvemment
to
study
the
area
kuownas
GranPajaten.The
tact
lhattheyaregoing
mto
an
areathatsomeprevious
explor-
ershave
said
IS
umnhabitableonJyaddstotheluster
a
1111
inevitable
romanuuzmg
01
the
expedition.
For
III
averyrealsense,Indiana
Jonesand
tus
brrmrned-hatvisage
loomover
this
expedition.Asproject.
co-directors
TomLennonandJaneWheeler(retoverlinJIdetails,th..yinsist
tt,~
expedi-
Tothelayman,
it
soundssomuchlikeHollywood,Onlybetter,becausethisdramaofscientificdiscoveryanddanger
will
bereal.
uon
is
aboutscience.notadven-ture.About(hepursuitofknowl-e<igl',notthepursuitofmovierighLs.
!l's
Just
that
tolhelayman.itsoundssomuchlike
l
lollvwood.
Only
better,becausethisdramaofscientificdiscoveryanddangerwillbereal,When
Lennon,
Wheeler,and,Icoregroup
01
about
3.'i
others
make
thePerutripoverthenextseveralweeks,therewillbe
110IlW,1e
SI'tS.
no
actors,nospecialdf",
I:"..lid
no
drr
ectoriat
cuta
ways
at
moments
ofpeni
Lastyear,whenLuil'~J:i..d,d
threeotherBoulderuesr(o[
111
flel'
DenverPoliceDetectiveJohnW.Randolphdiscussesthelocalproblemcreatedbyrunawaysandmissingchildren.Onewalt
of
themissingpersonsbureauisplasteredwithpictures
of
missingchildren
from
Denver'ilndfromaroundthenation.RandolphsaidtheDenverPoliceDepartmenttook1,556reportsofrunawaysinDenverlastyear-591boysand965girls.Inaddition,thebureaureceived
22
reports
of
parentskidnappingtheirownchildrenduringcustodybattles.Onepossiblestranger-abductioncasestill
IS
underInvestigation.
Exaggeratedstatisticscreatingnationalparanoia
KIDS
from
I·Aporterofthe
50,000
estimate,ChildFindnowsaystheactualnumberofstranger-abductedchildrenis
less
than
600
peryear.Thecasesof
children
kidnapped
hy
st
rangerson
til,'
withtheFill
'HId
chiJdrt'lI's
groups
SIIOW
an
evensmaller
number.Ther'BIreports
it
had
67
casesofchildrenkidnappedbystrangersin
1984.
TheNationalChildSafetyCouncilhas
80
picturesofstranger-abductedchildreninitsnationaldirectory.TheNationalCenterforMissingand
Exploited
Childrensaysithasfirmrecordson
142
cases.CenterdirectorJayHowellsaid
Ius
personalestimateofthenum-berofchildrenwhoarevictimsoflong-termabductionsis"some-wherearound
1,000
kids."andthatthetotal
number
ofaUstrangerabo"actions-including
I
hoseofafew
hours
orless-isbet
ween
4,000
and
20,000.
Lawenforcemenlandmissing,childrenexpertssaythatabout
95
percentofmissingchildrenreportsareonrunaways.Andmostruna-waysreturnhomewithinthreedays.Themajorityoftherestarechildrenabductedinparentalcus-todydisputes.Onlyasmallfrac-tionareabductedbystrangers."Somegroupshavegiveninflat-edfiguresout,"Howellsaid."Ican'ttakeresponsibilityfor
that."
'Impossible'figures
II
ighfiguresusedbyvariousgroups"areimpossible,"saidBiliCarterofthe
FBf's
publicinforma-tionbureauinWashington."Morethan
50,000
soldiersdiedintheVietnamWar.Almost
every-
oneinAmericaknowssomeonewhowaskilledthere,"Cartersaid."ThenumbersI'veseenfrommissingchildgroupsonabductedchildrenrangefrom
5,000
to
50,000.
Doyouknowachildwhohasbeenabducted?Thatshouldtellyousomethingrightthere."lIissentimentwasbackedupby
law
enforcementoflicialsinLosAngeles,Sanfrancisco,NewYork
and
Denveranditssuburbancities.Lt.GeorgeGreenberg,whoheadstheNewYorkPolice
De-
partment's
missing
personsbu-reau,said,"Maybethosefigurestheyarespoutingoutarescaringalotofpeople.
I
onceaskedthemwheretheygottheirfigures,
and
theycouldn'ttellme."Thebottomlineisclear-therearenottensof
thousands
ofchil-drensnatcbedawayeachyeartobebeaten,torturedormurdered,thecommonperceptionofmanyparentswhohavelineduptheir·~hildrenforfingerprintingsessionsandforclasseson"Stranger
Dan-
!;cr."
I
nDenverduringthelasteight
weeks,35,000
childrenhavehadtheirfingerprintstaken
in
a
gro-
cerystoreandsoftdrinkcompanycampaigntohelpidentitychildrenwhomaybelostorstolen..Denverpolicesaytheyhavenotrecordedasinglestranger-abduc-tiondeathsincethemurderfiveyearsagooftwoboyswhoappar-entlywereabductedfromaDen-verhomeandfounddeadinanAI.1amsCountyfield.1n
1983,
thelastyeartorwhichnationalfigures.areavailable,thereware
897
murdersofchildrenunder
15
reportedtil-the~'BI,andstudiesindicatethatthemajorityofthesewerecommittedbyan
ac-
quaintanceorrelativeofthechild.Onestudy,bytheNationalCenterforDiseaseControlinAtlanta,Ga.,reportedthat
10
percentofchildhomicidesarecommittedbystrangers.
ID
programscangivefalsesenseofsecurity
ByThoDenverPOSI
The
Iear
of
havinga
childabductedhas
driv-
enparentstounusualmeasurestoensurethesafetyof
their
children.Parentssmearjet-blackinkontheirchil-dren'sfingerstomakefingerprints.shoot
vi-
deotapestocaptureachild'spersonalityandmannerisms,buyinsurance
policies
topayforprivatedetectivesincasetheirchildrendisap-pearandpaydentiststoimplantcomputer
iden-
tificationdiscsintheirchildren'steeth.Then,theybreatheasighofrelief.Whileidentificationprogramsmaybehelpfulto
par-
entsoflostchildren,officialsarequicktopointoutthattheprogramsdonotprotectchildren.HIthinkittendstogiveparentsafalsesenseofsecurity,"saidGeorgiaHilgemanofthe
Cab-
IorniaVanished
Children'SAlliancl'
"I'eople
aretending
1.0
goforvery
simpre
solutionsforvery
complex
problems."SaidDenverPolice
LLRudv
S,lIIdov<J1:"Those(programs)areonlyhelpfulafterthefact.Thebestwaytoprotectyourcluld,istoknowwheretheyareallthetime.
If
theywanttogosomewhere,youhavetotakethem,pickthemuporgowiththemyourself.otherwise,anythingcanhappen."
MiSSingchildren:anationwide
Thenumberofmissinqpersonsunder
21
yearsoldintheUnFiguresincluderunaways,parentalabductionsandstr
anqerj
abducuons
Yet,hundredsofthousandsofparentsnationwidehavecometobelievethattheyareathighrisk
01
havingtheirchildrensnatchedbystrangers-aparanoiathatpsy-chologistssayisunhealthy.Whyhas
this
paranoiabeencre-ated?"It'ssadtosay.butsome
organ-
~tionsareexaggeratingthe
ng-
ures
tomaketheircauseseemmoreurgent,"said'John
Gill,di-
rector
otChildren's
RightsofNewYork,anon-profitorganizationthathelpsfindchildrenabductedbya
non-
custodialparent."Why,ourschoolsshouldbeemptyiftherewerethatmanymissingchilodren."TbesituationinColorado
is
Just
as
emotionaLU.S.Rep.DanSchaefer,aLake-woodRepublican,wentsofarasto
claim
In
a
statementintheCon-gressionalRecord,"In.myhomestateofColorado,over
11,000
chil-drenarelisted
as
havingbeenab-ducted."SchaefertoldTheDenverPosthegotthefiguresfromtheArapa·hoeCountySheriff'sDepartment.InvestigatorLamar
Mcl.eod
saidthedepartmenthadnosuch
fig-
ures,adding,HWedon'tevenhavethatmanyrunawaysstateWide."TheColoradoBureauofInvesti-gationcurrentlylists
887
missingchildreninthestate.GrayBuck-ley,headoftheCBI'sCrimeInfor-mationCenter,saidthat95percent
America'smiSSingchildren
"""ileexpertsagreealmostallofthemissingreportsinvolverunaways,theexactoerceotaceisunclear.Althoughfiguresvaryfrom90%to99%,givenTheDenverPostindi.catethatabout95%ofinvolverunawaychildren.Thischartdisplaystheaveragefromtheseestimates.
4%Abductedby
a
parent
ofthetotal"arenot
dl~on",a~."h_
ducted."ColoradoauthoritiestratingonthreekidnappingsbyJonelleMathewsofMillerofIdahoniferDouglasofafterthe
1981
deathofAdamWalsh,a6-year-old
Florida
boywhowasabductedfromashoppingmallandlaterfoundbeheaded.Hisfather,JohnWalsh,hasledanationalcrusadetofindmissingchildren.Hisstorywasmadeintoatelevisionmovie,whichwasre-broadcasttwoweeksago.His
ef-
fortshelped'createthenationalclearinghousethattracksmissingchildren.Walsh'scrusadehasgalvanizedthenatlon,increasingawarenessofthepr()blem.ofmissingchildren,forcinglawenforcementagenciestokeepbetterrecordsandhelpingreunitefamiliesWithmissingchil-dren.Walsh,intestimonytoCongressthatwasportrayedvividlyinthemovie,saidthat
1.5
millionchilodrenarereportedmissingeachyear,
and
"we
don't
havecluestowhathappenedtoover
50,000
of
them."
"Thiscountryislitteredwithmutilated,decapitated,rapedandstrangledchildren."hesaid.Wa)sh,inatelephoneinterviewwithThePost,acknowledgedthat"thereisnosingle,absolutelylegit-imatesourceforexactnumbers."Hemaintainedtheclaimof
1.5
millionmissingchildrenrepresentsallmissing-childrenreportsthatgointolaw
entorcement
computerseachyear.And,hesaid,
"8,000
to
10,000
childrenaremurderedeachyear,themajorityintheirhomes:'Specltk:somitted
Those
numbersreflecttheconfu-sion
and
complexityofmissing-childrennumbersthatoftenfailtodifferentiatebetweenthethreetypesofcases:runaways,parentalabductionsandstrangerabduc-tions.Ononeside,theFBIreports:,_,..Mostoftheapproximately
330,000
missing
childrenreportedtotheVBIeveryyearare
runa-
wavs,
andmostofthemare
locat-
edquickly,,_,..Thereare(ewerthan
30,000
opencasesofmissingchildren
na-
tionwide,includingrunaways,Chil-drenabductedby
a
parentand
chil-
drenkidnappedbystrangers.
V'
Therearefewerthan
100
ac-tivecasesnationwideofchildrentakenbystrangers.Meanwhile,children'sgroupsarepublicizingtheirownesti-mates.....LedbyfiguresoncetoutedbyChildFind,
dozens
of
groups
aroundthenationreportthat
50,000
childrenayearareabductedbystrangers.CarolynZogg,associatedirectorofChildfind,saidshebe-lievesthefigure"waspulledoutofahat.",_,..TheMedicineShoppecen-ters,anationalpharmaceuticalchainthatlastweekpromotedanationalchild-fingerprintingpro-gram,saidthateachyear,"ap-proximately
20,000
ormore(chil-dren)areabductedbyanon-familymember.",_,..Sen.PaulSimon,D-lll.,inalettertofellowmembersofCon-gress,saidthat
"150,000
ormore(children)aretakenbyestrangedparents,thousandsofothersareabductedbystrangerswhowantchildrenfor
prostituuon.
child
por-
nographyorotherexploitive
pur-
poses.Some
4,000
arelaterfounddead..."Thosedeathswouldbe
J
fourtimesthenumberofallhomicides.about
900,
committedagainstchilodrenunder
15
intheUnitedStaleseachyear.
Rootsofproblem
Whyhastherebeensuch
infla-
tionofmissing-childrenstatisucs"Partoftheproblemishowau·thoritiesreportandtrade
staus
tics.Missing-childrengroupsclaimthattherBIandother
taw
en-forcementagenciesdonottrackmissingchildrenadequately.
AI
onelime,the~'BIrequired
evi-
dencethatakidnappedchildhadbeentakenacrossstatelines.Theagencynowinvestigatesifanymissingchildcannotbefoundafter
24
hours.InMarchforinstance,
27,48~
missingjuvenilereportswereen-teredintheFBI'scomputer,butbytheendofMarch,
27,520
caseshadbeenremoved,includingonesfrompriormonths.Butsomegroups.incompilingmissing-childrenfigures,havetak-enasinglemonth'sworthof
miss-
ing-childrenreports,multipliedthatnumberby
12,
andcome
up
withmorethan
300,000
missingchildren."Mostofthecasesreportedareclearedthenextday,"saidCBIstatisticianJimBorowski."You
know,
thekidisfoundacoupleofhourslater.Theonesintherethelongestaretherunaways."Therearevery,veryfewcasesthatarenotrunaways,"Borowskisaid.Someofficialsalsosaythaimanychildrenwhohavebeen
10'
catedremainonthe
rolls
ofthemissing
because
parentsfailto
no-
tifyauthoritieswhentheiroff-springarefound.JamesM.Wootton,deputyad-
ministrator
oftheofficeofjuvenilejustice
and
delinquencyintheU.S.JusticeDepartment,agreedthatmanyofthefigureshavebeen
in-
flated.Inherent
risk
But,hesaid,thatcouldbe
oenen-
cial.
Thepublicityhas"madea
101
ofpeopleawarethatchildren
an'
atrisk.but
II
couldgotoofar,Whatshouldn't
happen
IS
10
ral';('children'sanxietyleveltothe
point
theydon'ttrustadults."Woottonisconductingthe
Iirst
in-depthstudyofmissingchildrentodeterminetheexactnumbersinseveralcategories.Hesaiditwouldbeayearbeforedefinitivefiguresareavailable.."Previousestimatesweremadeonananalysisofnumbersthatwereneversolidtobeginwith,"headded.Yet,parentshavemade
deci-
SIOnsabouttheirchildrenbasedonthosenumbers."Parentsreadthosefiguresandfreak,"saidHob
LaCrosse,
a
Den-
verpsychologist."Theemotionalimpactisso
pro-
foundandriveting,Itattacksverybasicfears.Theparent-childrela-tionship
is
aprettyprimitivein-stinct.Iworryaboutwhatthesescaretacticsaredoingtoourchilo
dren."
Issueanddebate
Sunday,May12,1985/SectionG
Plightofmissingkids
hi
By
Patrrck
Yack
!Juno/I:!
i-'Uht
W",::;IlIngll)ll
BureauCruet
W
t\SIIINGTON-Politl~alconsultantBob'Squlcrsaysheprobablymade
300
telcvisroncommercialslastvcarforDemocraticcandi-dates-
and
causes.
Ill'
hasno
trou-
ilkrcculungthemosteffective
one.
The
sput
hl'!;mswithasceneof
a
lonely,barren
Sidewalk.
II
litlle
lJoy
suddenly
appears,
AstheboywalksdowntheSidewalk,anan-nouncer
savs:
"Everytimewekissthemgoodbye,
a
smallpartofusf,'arsitcouldbeforthelasttime."
Then
the
little
boyabruptly
van-
Ishes.TheannouncerthendescribestheworkofPaul
Simon,
the
even-
t
ualwinner
in
the
racefor
U.S.
S,'nate
in
Illinois.Asamemberofthe
House
of
Representatives,
SimonhadshepherdedthroughCongressabillaimedathelpmgstateandlocallawenforcementagencies,andthefBIsearchfor
rrussuigchildren,
Theadvertisementendswiththelittle
buyquickly
reappearing.Tworeasons
lorad
Thereweretworeasonsforthead.OnewastoillustrateSimon'seffectivenessinCongress.Theotherwastoappealtoyoung,sub-urbanIanuhes'whowereleaningtowardincumbentCharlesPercy,
a
Republican,
"It
wasoneo(thesimplest
(ads),
butitjustseemedtohaveaprofoundeffectonyoungparents,"Squiersaid."Peoplearetorn
be-
tweentheraisingofkidsandtheircareers.They'feelthatinsomewaytheir
kids
are(left)uncoveredmorethantheywere."
Althougt;
Squierthinkshis
ad-
vertisementforSimonwastheonlypoliticalcommercialofitskindlastyear,Squiersaysthena-tion's
rnissmg
childrenhave"be-comeapowerfulissue"for
politi-
cians
to
centendwrth.
Childrengain
auenuon
While
theblluget,
armscontrol,foreignallairxand"starwars"dominatetheWashingtonagenda,theplightofmissingchildrenhasgainedtheattentionofCongressandtheWhiteHouse.Saidonecongressionalaide,tryingtosum'uptheimpactoftheissueonpoliticians:"Missingkidsis\heApplegieofthe'80s."Two
weeks.ago,
inaceremonyattheWhiteHouse,President
Rea-
Publicity:Helporhin
Mediacanfinda'runner'oran
abductedchild
ByPennyMcCaulley
P
oliceofficersarevery
con-
cerned,caringindividualswhowanttolocateourmissingchildren.However,be-causeoflackofstaffandmoneyoftentheirtimeandresourcesarelimited.Policeofficershaveotherduotiesinadditiontolocating
miss-
ingchildren.Oneofficerrecentlytoldme,
"I
haveautotheftsandamurderertolocate,
Idon't
havetimetodevotetolookonlyforyourmissing5·year·old."Ibelievehim,andothers,whosay,"Prioritieschangeandifachildisnotlocatedimmediately,wecannotcontinuetosearchonanintensivedailybasis."Wecurrentlyaredealingwiththreetypesofmissingchildren:parentalabductions,runaways,andstrangerkidnappings.Thegeneralprocedurehasbeentoreportthemissingchildtoalocallawenforcementagen-cy.They,inturn,fileamissingpersonreportandlistthechlld(ren)ontheColoradoCrimeInformationcomputer.This
in-
formationthenissenttoalllawenforcementagenciesthrough
If
wecansavejustonechildthroughmediaisn'titworthi?
Mediafrom1G
childcontinuetobeonthestreet?
It
hasasevereimpactonsociety.Oftenpornoringspreyuponouryounginthisarea,Theseyouthsalsousedrugs,steal,etc.-damageinhumanresources
is
paramount.Childrenwhoareabductedbyex-spousesalsoarechildrenathighrisk.Notall,but
a
great
rna-
jontyofchildrentakenby
ex-
spousesaretakennotoutoflove,butoutofrevenge.JohnWalsh,Ia-therofAdamWalsh,saidone
fa-
therofa3-year--oldmurderedthechildandpinnedanotetoherdressstating,
"I
foundmywifechildlessand
I
amleavingherthatway,"Oftenthesechildrencomefromincestuousbackgroundsorsevereabusivebackgrounds,andthereisgreatfearforthechild,·Even
if
theloveisthere,emotionaldamageisalways
done,
Thenamechanging,thehiding,notbeingabletoseeyourfatherormothertakesitstollonyoungminds.Strangerabductionsarebyfarthemostfearedbyparents.Notknowingwhereyourchildisorwhattheyaregoingthroughis
ago-
ny,Howcanyoufindyourchild?Wherehavetheygone?Howcanyoureachthem?Afriendrevealedthather
12-
year-oldnephewwaskidnapped.Theydidnotlocatehimuntilhewas
21.
Hewasinapornoringandsubsequentlyarrestedandimpris-oned,lierevealedthathewaitedtoberescued,butnoonecame.Hewastold
hi::;
parentshadsold
him
intoslaveryanddidn'twanthim,aperiodoftime,heThisyoungmanprobaspendtherestofhislifebars,Thiswasteoflives-theofmanpower(money,
etc.)-
topre-ventthiswasteisoneoftheryreasonswemustthenewsmedia.Themediahasterestandthefundstofillinofthegapsinthesearch
nrr,,,,,,cc
Thepressisinvaluableininformationtothepublic,Childrenarefoundasanewscoverage.AccordingtoDavidson,directoroftheWalshFoundationinty,Calif.,"Everytimemoviefilm)
is
shown,found!"Whenoneofour"runners"shownonaDenvertelevision
uon,
sheturnedherselfinsaid"
"I
wasembarrassedsawmyselfonTV.
I
also
't
thinkmymothercared,
I
sawshedid,"
If
wecansaveone<ttildthemediaisn'tallthiswortheffort?Maybeachildwillbebecauseanabductorseestheinthepressandisafraidthemighttellauthoritiesanditleadtotheirarrest.Thethechildmayhavebeendered,anyway.
If
somepersonmurderachild,willhidingchildfrompublicityensurethechild'ssafety?
I
thinknot.IcanonlystatethatifIwe.parentofamissingchildI
!
leavenoareaopentofindmychild,
politicianswheretheylive
une"
toreport
missing
children
af-
terthepicturesof
54
nussing
chilodrenwere
shown,
Thestoriesof
kidnapped
andrunawaychildrenareeasilyfoundamongthepagesofAmericanhis-toryandfolklore.ManyareIamil-
iar
withthe'kidnappingcaseofyoungCharlesLindbergh.Mosthavereadtheadventuresof
11
uck
l'i:1JI.
Butonly
recenl
lyhas
Congress
focusedonmissingchildren.ThemostfamousrecentcasesincludeAdamWabhandtheal-mosttwodozenchildrenwhodis-appearedandthenwerefoundmurdered
in
Atlanta
belween
1979
and
1981.
"Theissueofchild
exptouauon
dId
not
rt't'l'jVl'
J1l1ll'tl
uf
d
wurrn
rccepuon[curYl'ar~ago."
Silld
.lavHowell.theexecuuvedm-ctor01lhe
National
Centerfori\IISSII\.,and~;xploltedChildreninWashm~'ton.Now,theissuehasbeen
adopt-
edbyscoresofmembers
ofCon-
gress."It'sprobablybecause\11theauenuon
il
hasreceived
III
I
hrmedia."said
Howell,explauung
the
pouucatturnaround.
Processgapsweakeneffortsforrecovery
ByBarbara
K,
Lindauer
T
heincreasedfocusontheproblemofmissingchilodrenhashighlightedtheshortcomingsofexistinglegisla-tionandthelackofcoordinationamonglawenforcementandchildrecoveryagencies.Theireffortsarefragmentedandtheresultshavenotbeenevaluated.Toexpeditethereturnof
miss-
ingchildren,privatefoundations,corporations,andthemediahavebeenenlistedtoaidtherecoveryeffortsofthenewlyformed
Na-
tionalCenterforMissingand
Ex-
ploitedChildren.Theseorganizationsalsohavebeenaskedtoofferpreventionprogramsincludingsafetytipstokeepotherchildrenfrom
becorn-
ingvictims.Casesinvolvingbothstrangerabductionandkidnappingbyanoncustodialparentareusuallyincludedinthemissingchildla-beLExamplesofcooperationacrosspublicandprivatesectorsinclude
the
coordinationbetweentheNationalChildSafetyCouncilandthemissingchildrencenter.Barbara
K.
Lindauer,are-searchscientistattheDenverResearchInstitute,isanation-allyrecognizedexpertinchildabuseandparentalkidnapping.Theyhave
projectsin19
states
10
placephotographsofmissingchildrenonmilkcartonsandtopublishthecouncil'stollfreenumberforsighungsof
missing
children.Similartothemilkcartoncampaign,aneffortisbeingmadetoplacepictures,thetollfreenumberandsafetytipsonpaperbagsdistributedthroughsupermarketchainsinthenorth-eastandCalifornia.TheMissing
Children'sNet-
workwasformedindependentlyPleaseseeGapson
3G
Dataincrimecomputer
The
Missing
Chtlrtrenx
ActwasSignedintolaw
III
19H2.II.author-
izedtheentryofdescriptiveinfor
mation
aboutmissingchildren
mio
the
VBl's
nationalcrime
comput-
er.The
lawalsomade
it
pm;slolt'
forparentsto
requesttheFHl
10
enterthe
intormauon
iflocal
polrc«
orstate
officials
didnotask.Duringdebateoverthebill,
['Oli'
gress
feltthe
sung
ofangrypar-entswhowerefrustratedbvwhaitheyfeltwereinsensitive-policeforcesandfederallaw(';I(,)('('e·mentagencies.Whiletryingtostrike
a
balancebelweenwhatwaswantedandwaspossible,representativesoften~werecnucizedby
parents
whodidnotalwaysagreewiththeshapethelegislauonwastaking.Form-stance,representativesdidnotpassprovisionsforparentstogodirectlytothe
VB!
withmissingchildrencases.InearlyApril,morethant
IVO
dozenHouseDemocratsand
He-
publicanstoldoflostchildrenintheirhomedistricts.Thespeecheswere
broadcast
overaspecialnewsandpublicaffairstelevisionchannel.TheentireColoradodele-gationtookpart.
TVcalledeffective
"Televisionisoneofthemosteffectivemethodsof
communica-
tion,andIhopeitwillprovetobeaneffectivetoolin
helping
ustofindthesemissingchildren,"saulRep.MickeyEdwards.The
Oklahoma
Republicanis
hn-
ingupanotherseriesofspeechesonmissingchildrenforlaleMay.
Missingchildrennetworkhurt
by
lackofcasedocumentation
Gapsfrom1G
fromanationalnetworkofnonpro-
fit
childrecoveryagencies.Thenetwork'soperatingmoneycomesfromlicensingfeespaidby81tele-visionstationswhich
air
6O-secondspotsfeaturingphotographsand
tn-
formationonthreemissingchil-drenseveraltimeseachweek,Inaddition,postersfeaturingthesechildrenaredistributedtolocalsupermarketsforplacementwithothercommunityservice
an-
nouncements.Despitetheseeffortsaimedatincreasingcommunityawareness
as
wellasfindingmissingchildren,severalkeyissuesremainunre-solved.NoinitiativehasbeentakenfordocumentinghowmissingchildrenareidenWiedbynationalgroups,publiciziedbythemediaandthenreportedfound..Thelackofsuchinformationleavesseriousgapsinourknowl-edgeabouttheaccuracyofreport-edrecoveryrates,characteristicsofvictimizedchildrenandtheiraboductors,theeffectivenessofthemediainbringingaboutthesafereturnof
missing
children,andutil-izationoflimitedfederal,state,
and
communityresources,Todate,nonationwideorregion-aldatabasehasbeencreatedforcollectinginformationontherateatwhichmissingchildrenarebeingreturned,whofindsthem,procedurestakentohelplocatethechildandtypesoforganizationscontactedbyparents,TheMissingChildren'sNetworkhasclaimedanover30percentreacoveryrateofchildrenpicturedintheirmediacampaign.Thisfigureisconsiderablyhigherthanthe10percent
previously
reportedrecov-eryrateamongchildren
abducted
bynoncustodialparentsand
miss-
ingforlongerthan
6
months.Currentrecoveryfiguresmay
reflect
duplicatereportsfiledby'parentsatmorethanoneagency.ThedisturbingstatisticfromtheMissingChildren'sNetwork
is
thatfiveofthealmost
500
childrenad-vertisedina46-weekperiodwerefoundmurdered,Atthistime,wehavenomeansfordeterminingifpublicitythroughthemediamayhaveadverselyaffectedsomeofthecases.Forexample,childrenabductedbystrangersmaybemoreatriskbecauseofthelackofemotionalattachmentbetweenchildandkid-napper.Fearingcriminaljusticesysteminvolvement,theperpetratormaychoosetodoawaywiththechildratherthanriskanyfurthercon-tact.Ontheotherhand,publicitymayenhancethereturnofsomechil-dren,perhapsthosewhoareab-ductedbyparents
andthose
whose'casesreceivemediaattentionim-mediatelyfollowingasnatching.Theparentwouldthenhavelesstimetocoverhisorhertracks,Withouteitherthecarefuldocu-mentationoftheprocessesin-volvedinsettingupaneffectivemissingchildren'snetworkoradatabaseusingastandardproce-durefordocumentingeachchild'scase,ourpresenteffortsinrecov-eringmissingchildrenmaybemin-imallyeffectiveatbest,andpotentialJyharmfulatworst.
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