This sort of thing doesn’t happen here.

Isn’t that what people always say when a child goes missing. And yesterday as residents of Park Slope discovered missing signs on every block of Seventh and Fifth Avenue they expressed shock and dismay.

"Have you seen those fliers on the street about a missing girl, who is 11 years old," one friend emailed me.

Another friend reminded me that Maria Barrett, the missing girl, is only in fifth grade, the same grade my daughter is in. I overhead the crossing guard, a large woman who crosses PS 321 students and others during school hours on First Street and Seventh Avenue, talking to a neighbor. Standing next to a lamp post with a sign, she talked about the girl as if she knew her: So and so saw her just the other day, she said.

Although the perception might be otherwise, stranger abduction is actually very rare in the United States. The likelihood of it happening is like one in a million. Most stereotypical abductions are conducted by people the child knows.

Oh where can Maria be? Was she kidnapped by a stranger or a family friend? Is she hiding somewhere around here? Was she the victim of a crime? Did she run away?

It’s every parents worst nightmare. Just temporarily losing your child on the street, in a store, at the playground can cause instant panic. Usually you find them within minutes but not without your mind jumping to every worst case scenario. 

Can you imagine not knowing where your child is for days?