BY DAVE PARRO
In the aftermath of the search for a missing 3-year-old Oswego Township boy who spent a night outside alone before being found, media and family members are wondering why police did not publicly release any details about the case.
Ryan Flake's aunt, who contacted local newspapers and TV and radio stations herself about the search from California, criticized the Kendall County Sheriff's Department for keeping the media out of the loop, saying family members were specifically told not to talk to reporters. "Media gets a lot of grief for their snappy coverage of live events and sometimes questionable facts, but I still maintain that in a situation like this, no publicity is bad publicity," she wrote on her blog.
Sarah Flake even goes as far as suggesting the reluctance to involve the media hindered the search.
Kendall County Sheriff Richard Randall has said that finding the boy was his first priority, which is why a press release wasn't sent out until just before 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, a full 12 hours after Ryan went missing. But it wasn't just the lack of a press release; police wouldn't even give out a simple description of the boy to reporters at the scene.
Sarah Flake thinks alerting the media immediately would have been the smart thing to do.
I emailed Ryan's dad to make sure I wasn't overstepping in my efforts and he again said that the police were very strongly urging our family to NOT get involved and to let the professionals handle the search. I was shocked. How could police think that getting the word out to all t.v. and radio station viewers and listeners could be a bad thing in the case of a missing child? I kept making phone calls, but didn't tell my brother in law about my efforts.
She concludes that anyone else in a similar situation should ignore the police's advice not to talk to the media and points out that Ryan was found outside of the search area defined by police by someone who had heard about the search through the media.
I hope none of you ever have to go through this, but if it does, be proactive and GET OUT THE WORD!! Don't rely on police to contact local media. Don't wait until local news stations call you. Every second is crucial. ... I have to thank all the news people and t.v. hosts I spoke with early this morning who so quickly sent out helicopters, reporters, news alerts and web site bulletins regarding our precious Ryan. And please, if for any crazy reason authorities try and tell you to keep a missing child case quiet, IGNORE THEM!
The search effort was impressive, but withholding information from the public was ill-advised. Police often resent the media and do everything they can to avoid reporters. But in this case, that was dangerous.
If Ryan had been found dead in a pond or stream instead of unharmed, the Kendall County sheriff would be facing some serious questions right now about whether he did everything he could have to find Ryan quickly.
I think Auntie Flakey needs to chill. It seems like the police knew what they were doing. You only contact the media when you know its a child abduction and I'm sure there were no clues to lead them to believe that this was a child abduction. What if contacting the media stimulates a search for the kid by all the local child predators?
I say trust the authorities advice over an emotional uninformed aunt.
Thanks for the insight, @6. In the event that you ever go missing and the police tell us not to bother looking looking for you, we won't.
Well, it just seemed like Auntie Flakey contacted the media just to make a scene. Sure enough, after visiting her blog, I realized I was correct. She described herself as having "taken up the banner of outrageous behavior to get noticed" in her own bio.
If the experts say not to look for me, I would rather you take the advice of the EXPERTS. I'd hate for you to put my life in danger by contacting the media like the BeaConfused.
I also find it suspect that the Beacon even mentions her blog at all. Its almost like they are trying to promote her ad-generated blog as a favor for helping out the media. And these people talk about the Weisner Campaign giving favors!
FROM MIKE CETERA:
Dude, her criticism of how the police handled the disappearance of her nephew IS THE DEFINITION OF NEWS.
And a link to her blog IS the definition of payback.
You've obviously never loved anyone before, @6. You do anything you can to help, unlike the police who seemed to think getting media involved was unnecessary and a hinderance. She deserves even more credit for doing the right thing when "authorities" told her to do otherwise. Criticism is ridiculous at this point because it's clear from the outcome that she was correct to spread the word of his disappearance. Sounds like you're just jealous of her exposure.
"If Ryan had been found dead in a pond or stream instead of unharmed, the Kendall County sheriff would be facing some serious questions right now about whether he did everything he could have to find Ryan quickly."
Why do people feel so strongly about pointing fingers of blame? It always comes down to this level of negativity.
Just because SHE claims that the radio broadcast that was heard by Mr. Woodin was all her doing doesn't make it so.
Media people do not walk the terrain and participate in the search. They camp out and wait for the story to unfold. They fly their helicopters in and create air congestion that could hinder the search effort. What a slap in the face to the hundreds who were called in and volunteered to search throughout that miserable, stormy night with one goal in their hearts. To find a toddler who walked away from his home while no one was looking.
Perpetuating the notion that publicly rebelling against authority is the only way to create change or be heard is not only a worn-out, irresponsible tactic, it's a hallmark of shortsighted people who are limited in intelligence.
The only thing that made me nervous about the aunt's actions was the chance that some sicko would go out looking for the boy too...