So why has the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping attracted so much attention, when other missing children cases are overlooked?
People we talked with today say it's probably because there are elements to this case that really are quite rare.
News Specialist Richard Piatt takes a closer look at the response to the Smart case.
The numbers say this kind of kidnapping case is rare.
But the community response to this case is just as unique-- begging a deeper question about whether people would be so involved if it were someone else who was missing.
In the last six days, there has been world wide media exposure.
There have been thousands of volunteers carrying tens of thousands of flyers, searching acres of land.
There have been donations of time, food, and money from everywhere.
All in response to the Elizabeth Smart case, a 14-year-old involved in one of the rarest, yet most frightening of crimes.
Bob Walcutt/Laura Recovery Center Foundation: IT'S A VERY SMALL NUMBER IN REALITY. I THINK IT'S LESS THAN ONE HALF OF ONE PER CENT OF CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN ARE THINGS OF THIS NATURE.
Bob Walcutt of the Laura Recovery Center has helped with dozens of missing children cases.
Volunteer response on the Smart case has been remarkable, he says.
But he doesn't think it's because the case involves a blonde young woman from a rich neighborhood.
Quietly, some have wondered if such a response would be the case if Smart had been from another neighborhood.
According to Riley Barrett, whose company has donated smoothies, it would.
Riley Berrett/Jamba Juice: AS FAR AS I'M CONCEREND, I MEAN I DON'T CARE WHERE THE KID IS FROM. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT NEIGHBORHOOD. IT'S A KID.
Others also reject the class distinction argument, saying the attention reflects a response to everyone's worst fears.
John Slauson/Volunteer: I THINK IT HAS TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED IN THE HOME. AND IT'S SUCH A RARE CASE. SUCH AN UNUSUAL CASE.
At the same time, the Laura Foundation is well aware that such kidnappings do happen--most recently with Daniel VanDamm in California.
Bob Walcutt/Laura Recovery Center Foundation: IS IT RARE? YES. BUT WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN TWO OF THEM IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
Another fact that sets this case apart-- A witness, whose story is, so far, the best evidence about what's happened to Elizabeth Smart.
