From: charlie
Date: 7/17/01
Time: 11:04:41 AM
The problem was detailed in an AP story yesterday that told of the problem with "missing adults".
It told how the police REFUSE to search for anybody due to the person being an adult and the automatic assuption that the person "went Missing on their Own" no matter WHAT the circumstances.
That is the problem with the missing 40 people in DC. It is not a "crime" until there is a body.
Same for the Condit thing. They weren't going to look for her and they certainly weren't going to look when they found out she had a connection with a US Congressman.
In far too many cases (this one as well) nobody starts searching until all the leads and evidence is "stone cold". The surveillance tapes example were "lost" and taped over repeatedly because nobody considered her even Missing until the press got a hold of it.
Even when the family is asserting--strongly--that something is wrong---the police just refuse to look or investigate.
It is the reason sometimes that it takes so long for them to figure out there is a serial killer or a pattern to the disappearances.
One of the early things found in ALL the cases in DC were that they were so poorly documented by the cops and the files on them were so poor that nobody could make any kinds of conclusions about them nor could they find any helpful information.
It is one of the reasons that serial killers get by with holding a victim for WEEKS and torture them before killing them---because the police won't look for missing adults.
I don't blame the Levy's for going to the press. Or any other victim's family either. The cops won't look unless they are Forced to.
The same goes for missing children as well.
Just go to the other section here and read Jasper's description of what happened with the police when his neices were missing.
The police were Useless. The media and the neighborhood folks were another story. The children were found but thru NO credit to the cops.
Now in a small town, you'd probably have a difference in their response. But it would depend on the competence and the personal nature of the cops involved.
The 40 are missing but nobody WAS looking for ANY of them til the media got involved so there is good and bad to the situation.
charlie