Editorial: Abductions are the exception, not the rule

The name Etan Patz might not ring a bell, but the boy's disappearance in 1979 resulted in a cultural icon — pictures of missing children on milk cartons.

Patz was 6 when he vanished while he walked to his school bus stop in New York City. More than 35 years later, a man who had been a clerk at a local bodega was convicted of killing the boy, though his body was never found.

Patz's case — like those of other well-known missing persons such as Gabby Petito, Laci Peterson, Jimmy Hoffa and others — involved foul play.

Based only on the volume of national media coverage, one might think person snatchers are hiding behind every tree, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting victims.

But that's not really the case, and many missing person cases resolve themselves before the ink is dry on the report.

Most missing person situations are typically juveniles who run away from home after getting into an argument with their parent or guardian, adults fleeing a relationship and wanting no contact with the other person or an elderly person suffering from mental decline who simply gets lost.

"The vast majority of missing persons cases are not associated with a forcible kidnapping. The largest percentage of those who are reported as missing are adults who have chosen to voluntarily walk away from their family's home," Sgt. Joey Hann of Cape Girardeau Police Department recently told the Southeast Missourian. "Mental illness, drug abuse and substance abuse are the largest contributing factors. The only missing children reports from the past year have been juveniles who have run away temporarily and have since been found safe and secure."

An example of a purposeful missing person seems to be Evan Batterton of Cape Girardeau, "missing" since Nov. 1, 2017. In the course of the investigation, police officers learned someone close to Batterton had been in touch with him in 2020 and told them Batterton "is not a missing person."

Another Southeast Missouri man, listed by authorities as missing last month, turned up a day later safe and sound.

So, while cases of true abduction are horrifying and tragic, they are the exception and not the rule. Thankfully.