NEWS: State Department Assists Family of Missing Girl

Fox news is reporting that Beth Holloway Twitty, the mother of a teenager who went missing in Aruba, is receiving assistance from the State Department. The girl, Natalee Holloway, was reported missing June 1st, her mother has since travelled to Aruba to help find her. The State Department wouldn't comment what sort of assistance they were providing.



I wonder just what sort of assistance the government is providing? Are they useless, and trying to maintain the illusion of usefullness, or are they up to something? Does the State Department often assist the families of missing kids? I was under the impression they did not. Are they simply mugging for the cameras then? Showing us all how much they care about their constituents?

I hope they find her and all, but I gotta point something out. This kind of media attention only focuses on white girls who go missing. What about the thousands of black, hispanic, and asian kids who go missing in this country every year? How come every time you look at the television another little white girl's made the news?

Here's a picture.

I think you are over reacting by implying that blacks to not get the same attion. I have seen far more amber alerts for non-whites then whites; in this area.

Also it is very common for the US government to help when incidents happen outside of the US. As I understand it the FBI has sent agents to help the locals conducting the investigation on Aruba (sp?)


www.guardian.co.uk...



[edit on 6/4/2005 by shots]

all the balck and mexican kids? got any links? or just used to spewing the same crap over and over? Christ...people are never happy. If we did nothing, then people would bitch. We send over some people, and people still bitch, then throw out that weak ass arguement about blacks and mexicans.

Personally, I think if they wait a couple of days, she'll (or whats left of her) will wash up on the beach. Maybe some of those 1000s of missing mexicans and blacks will wash up with her.

[edit on 4-6-2005 by spliff4020]

Aruba has been used to smuggle people, human trafficing to South America before. She's probably been kidnapped and will be used for that. Venezuela has had a lot of similar problems and Aruba is not far from that and Venezuela is also a hot spot for want-to-be-terrorists.

Shame really...

Not sure if the request for links was directed at me or not, but here are a few

www.ctv.ca...

www.codeamber.org...

codeamber.org...

Here better yet you can find hundreds here


codeamber.org...

ya, well theres lots of white girls that are in there to..hmmm must be another plot, huh?

But hey, its not like they are on a website for missing kids, its not like the police are actively pursuing supspects, right? Oh wait.... they are....

and the one HUGE difference..is in BOTH cases (wow) police are searching for SUSPECTS!!! which are black...hmmm.....maybe the media doesnt want to look biased so they dont say the black part..But the girl in aruba is missing with out a trace......yaa...more whitey keepin everyone down again.

In Europe, I've only ever see our news report on White american girls going missing. They mention it everytime a White Girl does go missing for more then a week, but I've never seen them mention a Black or Hispanic girl, to be truthful and I watch the news daily.

ya, well theres lots of white girls that are in there to..hmmm must be another plot, huh?

You asked for links I furnished them yet you are still not happy. The fact is there are many amber alerts for blacks and as I see it you were implying that was not the case.

You are the one who has to live with that. Sad to see that some people only want to see one side of the picture when there are two.

No..what you provided are 2 links that also have suspects attached to them. How many white ones are on there as well? Get off the "poor black" kick , will ya? Its old.

You see..the difference is that this girls dissapearance is a MYSTERY......the 2 lame links u put up allready had suspects attached to them...soo...weak.
In every case, they are lookin for the dad...hmm.....any difference between that and disappearing into thin air? ohh the racism...

what is sad, is when people have to shove race into every single issue. its beyond sad. Pathetic is more like it.

Now read this and tell me whats what...
codeamber.org...

if your to busy, I can help ya..

# of african american kids (whatever THATS suppose to mean) - 68
# of Asian kids- 4
# of hispanic - 86
# of white kids- 188

So wheres the 1000s of missing black and mexican kids? seems to me that whitey is gettin the short end of the straw on that deal. Wonder why noones giving THAT any media?


[edit on 4-6-2005 by spliff4020]

Let's tone it down guys. News forum, OK?

Let's tone it down guys. News forum, OK?

Amen to that, but the author of the thread should not really have tried to imply this is more a white then black issue. That is not the point here, as I stated here in our area it seems that most amber alerts are for blacks and not whites, that is the point I was trying to make.

I am sure this varies from area to area.

To me a missing child, is a missing child regardless what their enthnic background/heritage is.

Thank you for voting on the news submission.

I voted NO. I think the story is bias. Before asking such questions as below maybe a little research should have been done on the Role of the State Dept overseas. To me the questions seem to be tagging the State Dept, specifcally in Aruba, as being media hungry vampires. That is why I think it is BIAS against DOS.

Are they useless, and trying to maintain the illusion of usefullness, or are they up to something?

No, they are very useful. Overseas the State Dept is the Authourity for all American Citizens (AMCITS). If you get in trouble it goes thru the American Embassy, same as if you get Kidnapped. The Regional Security Officer (RSO) is a Diplomatic Security Agent for DoS. His job is protection of the Embassy and It's employees and also handles cases such as this, robberies, car accidents...pretty much anything involving an American Citizen.

Does the State Department often assist the families of missing kids?

Everyday, 24/7 at nearly every Diplomatic Mission.

Are they simply mugging for the cameras then? Showing us all how much they care about their constituents?

This kind of stuff goes on all the time....you just don't hear about it.

Note: In some cases like this the case can be passed on to the "legat" officer...which is pretty much an FBI agent assigned to a Diplomatic post.



[edit on 4/6/2005 by SportyMB]

The interesting thing to me is that the girl has been missing for about 5 days now and there is no mention of the "chaperones" as being suspects.

My understanding is that there were 40 chaperones and I believe that they are all back in the states now. Obviously they need to find the girl, but I certainly wouldn't rule out the chaperones as a suspect in her disappearance. I have yet to see where any chaperone has been interviewed about their whereabouts the night she went missing.

the last sighting of her was leaving a club with 3 guys...now im not sayin that she had it coming to her, but my parents warned me about strangers when i was a kid....

still waiting on a retort about the 1000s of black and mexican kids though...

I believe the amount of coverage a missing person gets depends greatly on the amount of 'noise' the families make.

If my child went missing I would be harrassing every single news outlet I could find. How is the media to know about such events without being contacted? Some people think that just by calling the police, your case should be prevvy to the entire network of news agencies nation wide. It's up to you to get exposure.

Then again, it's so much easier to just sit back silently and blame everyone else for not listening or hearing you.

10 more FBI agents deployed to the case.
www.cbsnews.com...

Who the hell is this girl? Is this a publicity stunt for the agencies involved, to make the State Department look kind and fuzzy? Is she important for another reason? Or is she just another high priority missing white girl?

www.msnbc.msn.com...
Another interesting article on the subject. The above link questions the newsworthiness of these abduction stories. A good read IMO.

www.jsonline.com...
A great comparison of similar cases. This is a must read for anyone who truly believes there's no racism or favoritism in the reporting of missing persons cases.

And please keep it civil, I'm tired of having threads closed because some people can't control their racism, or their temper, or their big mouths. Just go elsewhere if you can't comport yourself properly.



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Is this a publicity stunt for the agencies involved, to make the State Department look kind and fuzzy?

As I said in a previous post, This stuff happens more often than people know about. And they do send over agents to investigate and work with local authorities...especially on kidnappings. And naturally they will send more help and rienforcements if the it is blasted all over the media.

As SourGrapes said,

I believe the amount of coverage a missing person gets depends greatly on the amount of 'noise' the families make.

This is so true......

Sporty
You're right, the amount of noise made by parents has a huge role in the response. Sorry SourGrapes, you are right, I didn't get around to answering your post yet, still trying to fix a link.

But yes, you're both absolutely right. This girl's mother was VERY vocal, and very aggressive in getting coverage for her daughter. I don't know if they're a moneyed family, or if they're politically connected in some way, but they certainly appear to know the ropes.

I also found it distressing, the level of response. They've got how many FBI agents on the case? At least ten, and that's for one missing person. Doesn't that seem excessive?

How many cases need this sort of attention, and never get it?

I don't know if they're a moneyed family, or if they're politically connected in some way, but they certainly appear to know the ropes

Good point....many times wealthy families get the "best" attention in cases like these. Like you mentioned, I dont think they are politically connected...I mean if they were it would probably be all over the news.....but they could have friends in high places...I doubt it though.

How many cases need this sort of attention, and never get it?

Many. Notice that on TV and in on the net media attention is either "ALL OR NONE" cases like this either have very little to no attention or they have nation wide papers and reporters knocking at thier doors....it's all about letting people know.

[edit on 4/6/2005 by SportyMB]

Lin k

Link fixed. The above is an interesting article relating to racial bias in the media.

Sporty
Yeah, it certainly is all or nothing, isn't it? Either you don't hear a peep, or the entire national media dog piles on and makes a global spectacle out of the situation.

I think a little less follow the leader would benefit the news outlets, and the American people.

As it is they march like ants. The scout lays down pheremone trails, and the whole colony trundles along, dutifully following the scent.