lovemykids's Blog

Watching the news now. Sounds like he's not the type of kid to run away. They said they are keeping the search to just the police dept right now. you might want to call and ask. So many sick people in this world, makes me angry.

I'll try to keep you up-dated if anything comes on the news i'll blog back to you. Please do the same for us as you are so close to the incident you could probably give more info then the news has time for.

IM A MOTHER OF FIVE IM VERRY UPSET THAT YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR THEM TO PUT OUT THE AMBER ALERT UNTILL THEY GET MORE INFO. ON WHAT HAPPENED. AMBER ALERT SOULD OF GONE OUT RIGHT AWAY. PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY IT DIDN'T .ISN'T THAT WHAT IT'S FOR MISSING CHILDREN

I agree but there is some confusion regarding this alert. Although the news said they didn't put one out until the case met all the criteria (8:30 a.m.) - an alert went out via text message last night. Are there possibly different levels of the alert? Regardless, if one of my children were missing I would want that to be one of the first things done. I can't tell you how many small white trucks I stared at on the way to work this morning - the alerts do get people looking.

I know I'm a stranger to the family but my heart truly goes out to them. If you know of ANYTHING my family and I can do for them, please let me know. I would like to donate flyers to hand out and/or post but don't know where to go to make the offer so if it's possible for you to pass it along, it would be appreciated.

I'm with you lovemykids. I have some leftover vacation days from last year that I can use if they will let volunteers like us help. I have a 4-wheel drive truck and an ATV. I'd love nothing more than to be able to help search for the boy. I have two grown-up girls myself and I know that this type of thing is every parents worst nightmare!

If I hear of anything the family needs or help searching I will pass it along. Ben is not into anything weird. My son has known him for years and he is a good, responsible kid.

As a parent my heart goes out to the parents and family. I cannot imagine how terrifying this must be for them. I think that I would go crazy if my kids disappeared.
As a citizen, I would like to see them loosen the requirements for an Amber alert. How far could this person have driven by now? I know that it is 13 hours to Denver Colorado from St Louis. As a parent and a citizen, I would much rather hear Oops, we found them safe then wait. I always keep my eyes open when I hear about a missing child and know that many others do as well. An oops Amber Alert should be both understandable and forgiveable to anyone with a heart.

Here's the criteria for an Amber Alert and a Saraa Alert. You may not like it, but these are the rules that law enforcement must follow before an alert is issued. It prevents the alert from becoming common-place. If they used it everytime a child walked a way from his mom in the mall, (and I'm not saying Ben walked away by any means) it lessens the effectiveness. Then, people will stop paying attention to it. Just go to the front page of myFOXstl.com and on the big story, there's a link that says, "Amber Alert: Learn More." The webteam put that together a few months back.

Ms_Vera, I know that there are standards etc., I would just like to see them loosened a little. In this case while no one witnessed him actually being pulled into the truck, he was there then the truck was and then he wasn't anymore. Sure a kid walking away at the mall would be different, but common sense should be able to dictate in cases like this. There was a very high probability that he was kidnapped. The police should be allowed more leeway in deciding to issue and alert. The 12+ hours since he disappeared gives the perpatrator time to do what they want and ties the hands of law enforcement and the community. If an Amber Alert had been issued yesterday afternoon, some trucker or other citizen might have been aware and noticed something. If this child does not turn up alive and safe, that is a tragedy that can never be undone. I cannot think of many things more horrible than losing your child and never knowing what happened to them. These types of crimes should always involve a life sentence.