Missing Woman Syndrome

Looks like my hometown of Canton, Ohio is the victim of the media's latest obsession with a missing woman. All of the media's favorite juicy elements are involved: she was pregnant and had interracial relationships. It's pretty surreal to see the lines of volunteers trudging through your old stomping grounds on Fox News looking for her --my Mom even took part!

It's of course a tragedy and worthy news in Canton, but I fail to see how this is National News. I'm hearing reports back home of what a circus it is with the media everywhere. The fact that it's on TV drives more and more volunteers to show up, resulting in thousands of eager seachers. With more people than search area, they comb residential neighborhoods in lines 20 feet apart as if expecting to find a body abandoned on a public sidewalk that people failed to notice for seven days.

Update: Just after I posted I called my Mom for the latest. Apparently, she made it on CNN yesterday to give her expert opinion. She couldn't talk long because she was on a bus crammed with volunteers heading out to search another field. Search it good, ma!