District attorney reopens case of first missing child on milk carton

[alp227]

Source: CNN

New York (CNN) -- His was the first face of a missing child to appear on the back of a milk carton. Now, nearly 31 years to the day since Etan Patz vanished from a New York street, authorities are reopening his case.

The communications director for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. confirmed that the office is taking another look at the decades-old mystery.

"It's a case that the district attorney has been aware of since before running for office last year," said Erin Duggan. "Last summer he said he would take a fresh look at the case if he became district attorney. Tuesday he confirmed that the case had been reopened."

Duggan added, "This was the disappearance of a child that gripped the residents of Manhattan and continues to leave many questions unanswered."

Etan was 6 when he disappeared on the morning of May 25, 1979. "It was the first day that he was to walk two blocks from his apartment to the school bus stop," said Lisa R. Cohen, author of "After Etan: The Missing Child Case That Held America Captive."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/05/26/new.york.1979.missing.child/index.html

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This is sad. I begin thinking why the parents weren't charged with negligence; I began walking to school by myself around age 7 if I recall correctly.

[w4rma]

1. You don't think the parents suffered enough? You'd have them fighting court battles instead of

trying to look for their child.

[FreeJG]

2. Can we now get Des Moines district attorney to reopen the case of Johnny Gosch? He was on carton

too...and oh yeah the case is still open but they won't do anything with any of the new leads.

[CoffeeCat]

5. There are new leads?

I hadn't heard.

[Danmel]

3. I can see the picture of Etan Patz as clearly as if I was looking right at him

His parents lived in Soho. His disappearance gripped the
city. I was 19 that year. NYC at that time felt like it was in a death spiral & people were really disturbed by his disappearance.
In 1994, my brother got a dollar bill that had the words "etan patz, hostage" written on it. He turned it over to the police, but never heard anything else.
I can't imagine how the parents could get over the guilt and loss.

[Silent3]

4. Because one time in a million...

...that a child of 6 walks two blocks alone something bad happens is enough to make it negligence to ever let it happen?

I occasionally walked all the way to school by myself at that age. (Roughly the equivalent of a whole *gasp* 3-4 blocks!)

Since riding in cars is far more dangerous, we should charge all parents who ever drive their children in a car anywhere with reckless endangerment, right? :eyes: