Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, right, vanished from Soham, England on Aug. 4; at left, a U.S. freeway sign flashes as part of a special child-alert program
Far too often the photos are the last we see of them: school portraits or family snapshots reproduced on blurry newsprint or flickering TV screens. The parents hold up the pictures at press conferences and tell their sad, familiar stories: one minute the child was there in a bedroom, a store, a car seat and then, in an eyeblink, she wasn't. Please help us find her. Call this number. Contact the police. And sometimes it works. Someone recognizes the photo the ponytail, the freckles, the wide brown eyes and the stolen child is found and rescued....
