> Good point. People in the media decide what they want to report. I have heard some discussion lately about how they will report on missing people like Elizabeth Smart and ignore hundreds of others. I think there has to be something about a story that will catch the attention of the public. Elizabeth Smart was young, beautiful, and wealthy. Laci Peterson, young, beautiful, and pregnant. Most of us could disappear and get no more that a small article on page 4, or 30 seconds on the local news.

Actually, one of the reasons Elizabeth Smart's case became so popular was the fact that her family did so MUCH to try to find her. They were probably able to do so BECAUSE they had money, but I don't think the fact that she was wealthy was the main reason. At the time of her disappearance, family members and friends posted fliers, talked extensively to the media, and even put up billboards. The billboards are still there, and occassionally you still see the fliers.

Also, the case was unusual in that she was abducted from her highly secured home. And also, yes, she was young, beautiful, and wealthy. But I don't think that hers was a high profile case just because of that.

Mi"lives only a few miles from the Smart home"a