American Abduction Epidemic? Are missing children an American epidemic? While many parents fear that it is, I disagree. In fact, I believe there is an irrational fear surrounding child abductions and “stranger danger” in The United States. This is evident when examining the actual statistics as opposed to listening to the media’s portrayal of these incidents. Throughout this essay, you will read some of the statistics of fear, the media’s role in causing this fear, and why parents are experiencing this fear. There will also be an example of a child abduction, some statistics on children who are reported missing, the types of child abductions that exist and where, and some tips to further lower the chance of your child being kidnapped. One
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Jacob was an 11-year-old boy from St. Joseph, Minnesota, who was kidnapped in 1989 and was missing for 27 years. In September of 2016, his abductor, Danny Heinrich, came forward and confessed not only to kidnapping the boy, but sexually assaulting and murdering him as well. Heinrich can also be tied to several other sexual assaults on other boys. Of course, this abduction struck fear into the hearts of parents not only in the community but the whole nation. In the 4th episode of the “In the Dark Podcast,” host and lead reporter Madeleine Baran describes how life changed for people in the community after Jacob was taken. As information was released, people began to see “suspicious people” everywhere they went. Many people came to both the police and the Wetterling family to tell them of strange men at the grocery store and white vans driving too slowly. Parents called their children home early from playing outside. Suddenly, the fear of abduction spread like wildfire. It seemed as if no child was safe from this horrific …show more content…
Child abduction is not the rampant issue many americans think it is. In fact, as stated by Schatz Anderson and Associates, it isn’t even one of the twenty most common committed felonies. It falls under DWIs, assaults, and even forgery. Rates of child abduction are much higher in other countries, including the United Kingdom. As reported by Laws.com, “[t]he United Kingdom is one of those major players in international political affairs that has been victimized by an epidemic of child abductions.” Laws.com says this is due to the decreased price in airline flights and an increase of marriages and, consequently, divorces, which leads to turbulent parents taking their children from those who win custody across borders to countries like
Jacob was an 11-year-old boy from St. Joseph, Minnesota, who was kidnapped in 1989 and was missing for 27 years. In September of 2016, his abductor, Danny Heinrich, came forward and confessed not only to kidnapping the boy, but sexually assaulting and murdering him as well. Heinrich can also be tied to several other sexual assaults on other boys. Of course, this abduction struck fear into the hearts of parents not only in the community but the whole nation. In the 4th episode of the “In the Dark Podcast,” host and lead reporter Madeleine Baran describes how life changed for people in the community after Jacob was taken. As information was released, people began to see “suspicious people” everywhere they went. Many people came to both the police and the Wetterling family to tell them of strange men at the grocery store and white vans driving too slowly. Parents called their children home early from playing outside. Suddenly, the fear of abduction spread like wildfire. It seemed as if no child was safe from this horrific …show more content…
Child abduction is not the rampant issue many americans think it is. In fact, as stated by Schatz Anderson and Associates, it isn’t even one of the twenty most common committed felonies. It falls under DWIs, assaults, and even forgery. Rates of child abduction are much higher in other countries, including the United Kingdom. As reported by Laws.com, “[t]he United Kingdom is one of those major players in international political affairs that has been victimized by an epidemic of child abductions.” Laws.com says this is due to the decreased price in airline flights and an increase of marriages and, consequently, divorces, which leads to turbulent parents taking their children from those who win custody across borders to countries like