It’s been over a decade since Madeleine McCann went missing in Portugal. However, the McCann case is still ongoing and continues to earn global media attention, in spite of the fact that someone is reported missing every 90 seconds in the UK. Disabled people, as well as people of color, are among those more likely to go missing than the average person but seem to be less likely to hold the attention of the public for a few months, let alone several years. So, why do missing posters seem to be plastered with white, middle-class, able girls?
Madeleine McCann is one of the most famous cases of missing children and shook the entire world at the time of her disappearance. Even thirteen years later, everybody recognizes the iconic photo of the blonde toddler staring directly into the camera. When it first happened, the McCann case was all over the news than in the way that coronavirus is now, (you couldn’t move for hearing about it), and every few years the story seems to rear its head again. If nothing else, the McCanns have been persistent in the search for their daughter.
People have been critical of the media attention garnered by Madeleine McCann, as she is one of the biggest examples of what is called “missing white woman syndrome”. This is a phenomenon in which white women and girls from middle-class backgrounds receive the most media attention. It’s nearly always a white face on the side of milk cartons.
Disabled people, as well as people of color, are among those more likely to go missing than the average person but seem to be less likely to hold the attention of the public for a few months, let alone several years. So, why do missing posters seem to be plastered with white, middle-class, able girls?
People of color are overrepresented in missing statistics and equally underrepresented in the media: sociologist Zach Sommers found black victims received disproportionately less news coverage than white ones. Cases often fly completely under the radar, such as the murder of Stephen and Stoni Blair, who were missing for three years before their bodies were uncovered in their very own homes. Such cases demonstrate the lack of urgency and attention when black kids go missing. Comparisons have been drawn between the abductions of Elizabeth Smart and Alexis Patterson, for example. The former (white) attracted national attention and ended up being found, while the latter (black) did not and is still missing to this day.
The shocking truth is that some children, especially those from marginal backgrounds, just slip through the cracks in the system. Activists have tried to bring attention to this issue, such as through the #MissingDCGirls in 2017. Even those who do get media attention are often portrayed differently, focusing on the victim’s problems, such as troubled pasts or abusive boyfriends, or are seen as hopeless cases. Relisha Rudd was eight years old when she went missing in 2014 and claims from authorities that nothing could be done to prevent her disappearance have been rebutted. She received little coverage because she was black and from an impoverished family but is believed to have been taken by an employee at DC General Shelter, where she lived.
It’s also interesting to note how rarely we see disabled people making the headlines. According to the Missing People Research Project, nearly one-third of missing people have some kind of intellectual disability. This would suggest that disabled people would be prominent among missing persons we hear about but that just isn’t the case- there are only two well-known instances.
Many factors can play into why disabled people are so likely to go missing: disabled people are more likely to struggle with a mental illness, have problems with the law, or be homeless. Disabled people of color are even more likely to go missing, as they are part of both risk groups.
Law enforcement is likely to see disabled adults as ‘dependable’ and therefore do not see it as ‘critical’ that they are found, unlike if a disabled child were missing. In the case of Zachary Briary, who went missing in 2016, police declared him “voluntarily missing” because he was living independently from his parents. State laws like this are intended to protect the rights of disabled adults, only allowing limited intervention by parents, which means that they are allowed to make their own decisions- even if they are “bad decisions”.
This is a double-edged sword: although it protects the rights of disabled adults and their control over their own lives, it also makes it difficult for them to be found. How can you tell the difference between a disabled adult who has chosen to quietly move away from their overbearing parents and one who has been abducted by a dangerous individual?
Police assumptions about disabilities can also affect cases. For example, Nora Anne Quoirin, who went missing in 2019, was classified as a missing person case rather than an abduction by the police. Similar to Briary’s case, it was suggested she had climbed out of her window herself. However, her parents argued this was impossible as Quoirin was disabled: she had limited mobility and was dependent on her family, meaning it would be very out-of-character. Her body was later found unclothed and the post-mortem found that she had died of starvation.
While these two cases made headlines, disabled people rarely do. As mentioned before, usually only white middle-class girls make the front page – unfortunately, “able” should also be added to that list. To bring it back to Madeleine McCann, one of the most famous examples of this phenomenon, it’s worth considering why certain missing people become a national obsession while others fade into obscurity.
The main reason the white middle class can make front pages is simply that they can afford to; Gerry McCann spoke about ‘marketing Madeleine’ to keep her in the public eye, which is part of the reason her face was absolutely everywhere after her disappearance. Her parents were also able to earn money from books published about the case. But families who don’t have the funds or capability to put in this amount of effort aren’t able to secure the same awareness. If Relisha Rudd’s mother couldn’t afford anywhere to live, how would she fund an international campaign?
But it isn’t just the McCanns who have invested a lot of money into their case. As of 2018, over £11 million had been spent looking for Madeleine. In contrast, it is estimated that £2,415.80 is spent on a medium-risk, medium-term case. So, when taking into account how much is usually spent by police on a missing person’s case, the amount spent on Maddie McCann certainly seems disproportionate and suggests that she is somehow ‘more important’ than other missing children.
This is likely due to a combination of institutional racism, classicism, and ableism. Like in most media, being white is portrayed as ‘relatable’ and ’universal’ so viewers are expected to sympathize more with ‘blameless white girls’. Whereas black children are more likely to be viewed as troublemakers or their families may be seen as playing a role in their disappearance – Sophia Juarez went missing around the same time as McCann but it was theorized that her own father had kidnapped her, playing into stereotypes people hold about Hispanic people.
Similarly, those from impoverished families are usually seen as being victims of their own backgrounds, (living in ‘more dangerous areas’), and parents are blamed for being ‘bad’ or ‘lazy’. Meanwhile, disabled people just seem to be invisible or expendable in the eyes of the media, and even being abducted isn’t enough to make the nation see us. While there’s no one reason why certain cases are headline news, general trends suggest it helps to fit the typical depiction of a ‘damsel in distress’ and for parents to be wealthy and well-respected by the community.
Obviously, it’s not fair to say that black or disabled children are never headline news. The case of Victoria Adjo Climbié, who was abused and murdered by her mother, received great attention in the UK and is still remembered two decades after it occurred. Similarly, Nora Anne Quoirin disappeared in similar circumstances to Madeleine McCann and received a lot of publicity- however, it’s unclear if this would’ve continued to dominate headlines in the same way as McCann, since Quoirin’s body was eventually uncovered. But these examples are outliers.
I do hope the McCanns ultimately get the closure they need regarding their daughter, especially since they’ve stopped at nothing to get it. However, one missing child shouldn’t be more important than millions of others.
