Of all the missing persons in the U.S. right now, one person is getting more attention than any other. She is Annie Le, a Ph.D. student in pharmacology at Yale University in Connecticut. The joint news conference with law enforcement and university officials captured live television coverage on CNN yesterday. The Today Show featured Le’s disappearance as it’s top story this morning. Among all the people who disappear under mysterious circumstances, Le is now best known.
When asked to speak about journalism to various organizations and community groups throughout the years, I was often asked how our television station decided which stories to feature on the evening news. The answer, I told them, was that news is what is not supposed to happen. And of all the day’s events, which story was what was not supposed to happen most? That was often the lead story on the news.
If a teenager with a history of running away from home fails to come home one night, it doesn’t get much attention. A teenage runaway who runs away is not news. On the other hand, a teenager who reliably makes it home on time and has no history of being out without a phone call home, makes news for it’s sharp deviation from character.
That’s why Annie Le’s sudden disappearance is so disconcerting. She was supposed to be married today. When she was reported missing on Tuesday, some wondered if she got cold feet and became another “runaway bride”, like Jennifer Wilbanks whose disappearance prior to her wedding in 2005 sparked a nationwide search. Le’s case started small but grew after every family member and friend portrayed her as stable and happy about marrying her “best friend”.
Now the case reads like a prime time crime show.
Why did surveillance cameras record an image of Le walking into the Yale Laboratory building but not walking out? Reports of some bloody clothing recovered from a hiding spot above some ceiling tiles indicate “foul play”, according to authorities. Police say they’re working to link the clothing with Le, but we already know the answer. A green shirt and brown skirt in size extra small as shown on the surveillance tape is Le’s. We hope if she is trapped somewhere in that giant building, she can be found, injured perhaps, but alive.
This story might not end well. Police have summoned cadaver dogs, and they’ve been going through nearby dumpsters. The authorities say they have no suspects and until the clothing is confirmed and identified, they won’t even declare this a missing person’s case, but they always know more than they reveal to the media.
On the other hand, Elizabeth Smart was found after nine months, Jaycee Dugard after 18 years. Sometimes there are weird, but happy endings. Let’s hold out hope for beautiful and brilliant Annie Le.
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