Carissa's mother, Bonita Sharon Heilander, contends she never would have allowed Carissa to visit the mobile home of former neighbor David "Coon" Merritt, if she'd have known he was a convicted sex offender. But Carissa was a borderline runaway who pretty much did her own thing, with or without her mother's consent. She might have ended up brutally murdered in the Coeur d'Alene National Forest, even if Idaho, like Washington, notified neighbors when violent sex offenders move nearby. Unquestionably, Idaho laws should be upgraded to require authorities to inform residents of the presence of convicted sex predators. But police and the courts can only do so much to protect children in a dangerous society. The primary responsibility for a child's safety rests with his or her parents or guardians.

daveo@spokesman.com

I wrote another editorial saturday, citing the need for a law that requires notification when a sex offender moves into a neighborhood ... as well as the need for parents to do their part to protect their children - Dave )

It is good that you encouraged Idaho to upgrade their laws in regards to their sex offender registry. We would like to see this problem addressed by more individuals in Idaho. Sex offender registries at least help to alert parents and keep people informed. Idaho is one of only a few states that does not publish a sex offender registry.

While no one can argue that we live in a dangerous world, and that vigilance is so necessary on the part of parents as well as children, I can't help but wonder why there is not more vigilance in regards to the sex offenders. There is really no supervision for these parolees who are sex offenders. These people are predators and are known to be habitual re-offenders.

There were 50 known registered sex offenders in the neighborhood of Daniel VanDam in California when she disappeared. If the department of corrections there had released 50 cougars into that neighborhood, what are the odds that sooner or later a small child would be caught off guard and devoured? It incenses me to hear that her parents "smoked dope" and had questionable morals. Who cares? This little girl was in her pajamas, in her own bed, with her teeth brushed and a parent asleep in the house when she was abducted!

A nine year old girl in Belgrade MT was abducted last father's day from her own bed. The perpetrator was a complete stranger to the family and resided in Three Forks, MT. located over 30 miles away.

It is so easy to blame the parents until you are the parent. How can we possibly lay the blame on any child? We all need to stop looking for someone to blame when these crimes are committed and stop and look at the truth!

There are approximately 200 children a day in the United States that are victims of stranger abductions. (2,000 children a day were abducted in 2001. It is estimated that 10% of those are stranger abductions.) I am old enough to remember when the Lindburg baby was "kidnapped". It was an incredibly horrible thing back then. Not because the baby's parents were famous, but because "kidnapping" was almost unheard of at that time!! Now, in the year 2002, two hundred children a DAY is a spine chilling and horrific thought to me!

When you collect the numbers of sex offenders out on parole in this country, the rising numbers of missing children becomes more understandable. It is an awful world for children. It would be nice if we could protect at least a few. I cannot think of a tribe of people on this planet that does not protect their young! You have to wonder why people who are certain to eventually re-offend, and who prey on children, are ever released to roam the streets unsupervised, don't you? This world is dangerous enough it would seem, without releasing known predators. Especially when one considers the nature of the crime, that it will escalate to murdering the victims, and even worse - that it is a learned behavior! We have a growing problem in this country and this problem is not about negligent parents or wild and unsupervised children.

Carissa Benway could have been a "headstrong and independent child" (to her mother's dismay) and still survived. Carissa had a right to survive! In fact, in Psychologist Dr John Breeding's book entitled "Wild Colts Make The Best Horses", he maintains that these "headstrong and independent children" grow up to be some of our most outstanding and gifted people!!

We cannot simply “dismiss” these horrific crimes against children, that are committed by known criminals, who have been allowed to permeate our neighborhoods, by telling ourselves that parents need to be more vigilant and that children should all stay at home and never sleep alone in their own rooms.

Even if you leave your keys in your car, it is still considered grand theft auto if someone steals it! If you are mugged and robbed, is it your own fault for carrying cash in your pocket?

Thank you for the article and the note,