BRAINWASHED?

Missing Pieces - Text Edition

I had the pleasure of interviewing Patty Beeken, President of www.FourTheKids.org on the very first episode of my Radio show www.MissingPieces.info in September of 2006.

I ask Patty some questions recently for the show's Text Edition column.

Todd:

How common is the problem called Stockholm Syndrome? I know it seems more common in children, but depending on the age of the child, they might actually be brainwashed or unaware of the truth. But one has to think...if an abducted child is alive and well, they might not always be kept in a basement as a hostage, they might actually be out and about, either aware or unaware of their identity. Can you comment on this?

Patty: I spent a bit of time researching and thinking about this. I believe that with most child abductions such as Steven Stayner and the more recent case of Shawn Hornbeck start out with a much more insidious progression of events. We have been told by Shawn's family that his abductor threatened to kill his entire family if he attempted to get away.

In Steven Stayner's case the line of reasoning began with his abductor Kenneth Parnell told him that his family had sold him to him. I feel that this leads to the events where the child has no one else to turn to so they do what they are told. Once you look at the events in this light it is a tough call to determine Stockholm Syndrome or just plan survival mode. When you tell a child the lies that threaten his basic comfort zones such as family and love and make him feel totally abandoned it is difficult to make a clear judgement of Syndrome vs. survival.

Basically we need to determine if the child has actually become attached to the person or if he/she is just doing what needs to be done for survival.

Children are very good at adapting to behavior that keeps them safer, as evidenced by how many are abused by others and do not tell.

Todd: According to John D. Robins-Wells with Wisconsin Center for Missing Children & Adults www.wcmckids.org this is very common and happens daily.

I quote John here: