Okay I was wondering... how do kidnappings become so famous? There ahs to be hundreds of kidnappings a day and only a few make it to the national news. Like with Elizabeth Smart and Laci peterson (though Laci's was a murder) . I know if I got kidnapped it wouldn't make national news!

Well if the family is wealthy, the kidnapping is likely to get more attention. With the Elizabeth Smart case, there was a witness to the kidnapping giving law enforcement something to go on. It is true that kids go missing everyday but many of them just disappear with no witnesses so the authorities do not know for sure if the kid was abducted or ran away or what.
As far as Laci Petersons case, she was pregnant when she went missing making this a very unusual situation. If she had not been expecting a child and was just a lady who vanished I doubt the case would have gotten the attention that it has.

A lot of times, the case gets more attention if the person kidnapped is very young, very attractive, or has a connection to another kidnapping case.

If you're wealthy and affluent, it's making the news. The same goes for murders. The JonBonet case received so much press because they were wealthy. If she were a poor little girl living in the projects, chances are we never would have heard of it.

It is usually big news too when a child is abducted from their home such as Polly Klaus, Elizabeth Smart or Danielle Van Dam. An abduction is always a terrible thing, yet a child being snatched from their own bedroom is off the charts.
It violates our feelings that we're safe in our own homes. It adds an extra frightening dynamic to an already horrifying event.

Another factor in making a kidnapping famous is if a famous person's child is abducted or if the person abducted is famous.

The Lindbergh case is probably the most famous kidnapping in history because the baby's parents were famous and members of high society.
Patty Hearst was the daughter of a famous newspaper tycoon.
Frank Sinatra's son, Frank Jr., was kidnapped.
The unsuccessful kidnapping plot of Posh Spice from The Spice Girls has been getting press lately.

the whole Posh Spice kidnap was mainly just to kidnap her baby Brooklyn and get a randsom, but planned to kidnap her too. Anyway- in the paper everyday in a small article near the back, there's always a small report about a missing girl- some girls making the news in the Uk were missing for 2 days and were high-profile. Anyway, sometimes I see someone missing for 3 weeks, and wonder why isn't that in the news. Then when dead bodies turn up, and it's not that person always on the news, the say it was some woman missing for three months. Why weren't they on the news too. I keep reading these, sometimes a month later they're the most high-profile police search of the year, everyone thinks the kidnapping just happened when I remember reading it like the month before. I think you may need to phone alot of news stations to report it too, but I think they have a twisted way of choosing who gets priority. They porbably only report the cutesy little girls with dimples and flowery dresses being kidnapped to melt the people's hearts and get more viewers.

Well I Know in the Case of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis
it was just the fact that Ashley was missing first and then a few months later her friend Miranda turns up missing and in the end it was someone they NEW that did it and someone that Ashley went to the police for (and her counselor at school) because he was abusing her
also that it was the FIRST MAJOR Kidnapping/Murders here in Oregon AND that it was a small town in Oregon

Originally posted by AnahiemPMWitch
Well I Know in the Case of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis
it was just the fact that Ashley was missing first and then a few months later her friend Miranda turns up missing and in the end it was someone they NEW that did it and someone that Ashley went to the police for (and her counselor at school) because he was abusing her also that it was the FIRST MAJOR Kidnapping/Murders here in Oregon AND that it was a small town in Oregon
I never heard of this case. That's just awful. They were both murdered? That poor girl went for help...why didn't they protect her? Who's the guy who did this? :mad:

Originally posted by Janice

I never heard of this case. That's just awful. They were both murdered? That poor girl went for help...why didn't they protect her? Who's the guy who did this? :mad: really You guys didnt know about this case?? it was all over OUR news networks here I just assumed it was National as well
what basically what happened was it was a Nieghbor of the girls (the two girls lived in an apartment complex and this man lived across the street) Ashley went for help saying he Raped her and sexually abused her several times and everyone she told Just blew her off
a few months after Ashley turned up missing her friend Miranda turns up missing and then a year later the police search the guys house and dig up thier bodies underneath a concrete slab he SAID earlier to the police that He was making a Hot tub for
the SCARY thing for ME is the fact that both girls were My Nieces age and it happened HERE which for some odd reason is considered One of the safest places in the world
I guess that goes to show you're not safe no matter where you go

Originally posted by Janice

I never heard of this case. That's just awful. They were both murdered? That poor girl went for help...why didn't they protect her? Who's the guy who did this? :mad:

I'm surprised you never heard of it. It got quite a bit of national attention.

Originally posted by jimmiegirl48
I'm surprised you never heard of it. It got quite a bit of national attention.
It rang a bell when AnahiemPMWitch told me the entire story (thanks for doing that, btw).
Still, I don't recall hearing that much about it. It could have been during a busy time in my life when I wasn't following the news closely. Those poor girl's names are unfamiliar to me.
When did it happen?

Didnt kidnappings start to really get attention after John Walsh's son was kidnapped and murdered? Ever since then kidnappings have gotten a lot more media attention and helped a lot of people get found.

Originally posted by •Shotz|NYC•
Didnt kidnappings start to really get attention after John Walsh's son was kidnapped and murdered? Ever since then kidnappings have gotten a lot more media attention and helped a lot of people get found.
Yes, John Walsh is a true crusader. America's Most Wanted helps nab so many dirtbags. The couple who spotted Elizabeth Smart had just seen another profile on the case, so Walsh gets credit for that one too.
It's awful his son Adam was murdered, but his death was not in vain. The John Walsh story has always amazed me. The combination of his fierce drive and the fact that he has the presence and personality to host a successful show strikes me as just, well, cool.

Originally posted by Janice

Yes, John Walsh is a true crusader. America's Most Wanted helps nab so many dirtbags. The couple who spotted Elizabeth Smart had just seen another profile on the case, so Walsh gets credit for that one too.
It's awful his son Adam was murdered, but his death was not in vain. The John Walsh story has always amazed me. The combination of his fierce drive and the fact that he has the presence and personality to host a successful show strikes me as just, well, cool.
Yeah, on April 10th 2002 me, Amanda, and my mother had gone to NYC and were walking to NBC Studios to see Conan (:woohoo: ). Anyways, as we're walking we spot a limo and Amanda says that its John Walsh. He was headed into the hotel. He stopped for a few pics and talked for a minute. I have the pic somewhere posted on here, Ill find it after. He was whicked nice and glad to take the time to talk!

Originally posted by Janice

It rang a bell when AnahiemPMWitch told me the entire story (thanks for doing that, btw).
Still, I don't recall hearing that much about it. It could have been during a busy time in my life when I wasn't following the news closely. Those poor girl's names are unfamiliar to me.
When did it happen? No problem :) I"m not sure how much of the news everyone got I mean HERE it was thrown in our faces pretty much 24/7 on every Major Network because it was LOCAL as for you not knowing thier names Hmmm I dont know maybe thier names were never mentioned on your channels??