LITTLE ROCK — THANK GOODNESS, thank the stars, thank the heavens, thank everything good you can think to thank.
That was probably most folks’ first reaction on hearing the news that the girl had been found. And there’s no doubting that 14-year-olds are girls, no matter how grown up they may believe themselves to be.
No need to go into the details again. They’ve been all over the papers the last few weeks. The family should be allowed to pick up the pieces now, and try to start anew. All the luck to them.
But before everybody moves on, maybe it should be noted that what happened after the girl disappeared was just what should have happened.
Her mother reported her missing.
Police in Bella Vista submitted information on the girl-and the 18-year old she is reported to have run away with-to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Both were found in Aberdeen, Washington.
She was held as an endangered runaway.
He was held in custody.
There have been stories in the paper lately that didn’t have as happy an ending.
To the police, both in Washington State and Bella Vista, Ark.-Thank you.
To that center that looks for missing and exploited children, thank you, too.
Now the family can start mending fences, the 18-year-old man can face the consequences . . . and the rest of us can breathe a little easier than we could just a few days back.
File for future reference. Just in case. It wouldn’t hurt if you showed this editorial to the teenager in your house, either. Sure, you’re more than likely to get that eyes-rolled-back, oh-so-tolerant look in return. But you’re used to it by now, mom and dad. And you can’t be too careful. ’Cause we love ’em anyway. And wouldn’t want them to be anything but who they are and where they are-in their teens and with us.
Editorial, Pages 10 on 04/02/2012