Abduction of young child -- why?

It's every parent's nightmare -- the abduction of their child.

But why are children abducted?

The most common abduction, by far, is as part of disputed custody. One parent runs off with the child. This accounts for virtually all child abduction in North America.

Less frequent, but still not extraordinary, is abduction for ransom. These cases are often found in recent immigrant communities and are widely under reported especially if the child is returned unharmed.

Very young children -- babies -- are sometimes kidnapped to be raised by the kidnappers as their own child.

Finally, and rarest, are abductions for purely evil purposes -- sexual or other abuse. This type of abduction is the most feared but by far the rarest.

Search continues for missing girl Canadian Press
WOODSTOCK, Ont. — It's a serious situation but there will be no Amber Alert for a missing eight-year-old from this southwestern Ontario city because the incident doesn't meet strict criteria set by police, a spokeswoman said today.
Multiple police forces and community volunteers have joined an around-the-clock search for Victoria "Tori" Stafford, a Grade 3 student from Woodstock, northeast of London. The search started after the petite blonde child didn't return home from school Wednesday afternoon. "It is a high alert but it's not considered an Amber Alert because it hasn't just happened," said Const. Laurie-Anne Maitland for Oxford Community Police.

"I cannot stress enough that it does not change the investigation in any way of how serious it is."

For an Amber Alert to be triggered, police must believe a child under 18 has just been abducted, is believed to be in danger of serious bodily harm and there is descriptive information that can be immediately broadcast, Const. Maitland said.

Some 40 police officers and hundreds of volunteers fanned out Thursday night and again this morning searching for the girl, last seen leaving Oliver Stephens Public School. She has been positively identified in a school surveillance video walking with an unidentified woman.

Police say the "person of interest," appears to be between 19 and 25 years old with long black hair, and in the video is seen wearing a white winter parka and tight blue jeans. They haven't said they suspect foul play.

The girl's parents said in television interviews Thursday night that they're offering a $10,000 reward for their daughter's return. "We just want her home, no questions asked. $10,000 reward," said her mother Tara Mcdonald.

"We just want her home safely. And we just want this to be over and done with. We don't need to know a reason — we've racked our brains. We don't have any idea why anybody would do this." Victoria's father, James Goris, added: "We just need the baby home, as soon as possible. And we do thank everybody for everything they've done."

The blurry video footage, captured at a high school near the girl's elementary school, shows the pair walking briskly past several people. Provincial police and officers from Oxford Community, Waterloo Region and London are involved in the search.
James Morton