The kidnap videos in Iraq are suspicious. Some say they are fake. Some make their own... what do you think of this one? A rare bit of humor from Al-Jazeera. [.wmv]
posted by pemulis on Jul 12, 2004 - 11 comments

Elizabeth Smart has been found - alive - in a restaraunt in Sandy, Utah, MSNBC reports.
posted by Psionic_Tim on Mar 12, 2003 - 61 comments

Testimony of Teens Kidnapped w/ authorization of parents and taken to overseas "behavior modification" schools. After researching these schools almost 5 years ago I am horrified that most of them are still running and whose teachings are even showing up in the form of seminars in kindergarten. Has anyone else had experience with schools like this, whether directly or through a family member or friend ?
posted by bkdelong on Sep 30, 2002 - 17 comments

Well, they've been found. The remains of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis, the highly-publicized first victims of the "summer of child kidnappings," have been found at the [former] home of the FBI's main "subject of interest."

Damn, damn, damn.
posted by wdpeck on Aug 25, 2002 - 102 comments

Ideas have consequences. On the subject of the Daniel Pearl kidnapping, an interesting letter to Media News today (scroll down to the "Journalists as Political Operatives" item), reads in part, "I would not want to trivialize it for all the world, but I am constrained to point out that it was only recently that Mr. Pearl's newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, felt compelled to praise the book "Bias" which perports to lay bare the 'liberal bias' of mainstream journalism. In fact, the WSJ editorial board has for years persisted, along with other conservative commentators, to label journalists as political tools in service of a larger political agenda. The kidnappers of Mr. Pearl insist that he is a political tool, a spy, for some foreign government (one day the U.S., the next day Israel.) Where could they have possibly gotten the idea that journalists are not the dedicated professionals they claim to be but are instead something else in disguise?" Thoughts?
posted by nance on Jan 31, 2002 - 35 comments

Missing school bus found near D.C. Berks Academy administrator Robert Becker said: "I am totally relieved and thankful to the Lord for protecting these kids." Um, excuse me?
posted by hitsman on Jan 24, 2002 - 33 comments

Judge May Reject Olson Guilty Plea "A day after Sara Jane Olson pleaded guilty to attempted bombing charges and then denied her guilt outside the courtroom, a Los Angeles judge announced he will hold a hearing next week to decide whether to toss out the plea." Even if she's actually innocent, I can't help but think the former Symbionese Liberation Army fugitive should've kept her mouth shut until after the sentencing at least. The LA Times isn't very sympathetic, either.
posted by phartizan on Nov 2, 2001 - 6 comments

Your worst nightmare come true. "Bound hand and foot and gagged, a 27-year-old English woman tourist cowered for seven hours in the vast loneliness of the Northern Territory night, stalked by a gunman who is feared to have killed her companion."
posted by Neale on Jul 15, 2001 - 22 comments

Kidnapper's cabin surrounded as a hostage drama seems to cap a remarkable criminal career. Anthony Zappa was the fugitive who caused the Mall of America to be closed for a search last month; he got away, then he was going to turn himself in, but instead he fled to Nebraska, where he kidnapped a teenage girl. Oddly, this parking-lot snatch resembled an unsolved case of a missing TV anchorwoman, Jodi Huisentruit.
posted by dhartung on Apr 12, 2001 - 5 comments

This is just disturbing. A baby boy "was stolen from his slain mother's womb by another woman, who passed the baby off as her own until she killed herself under police scrutiny." The references to similar cases at the bottom of the article, especially the one involving the car keys, are quite messed up as well. The content is somewhat graphic - be advised.
posted by Hankins on Oct 4, 2000 - 8 comments