Etan, You'll Never Be Forgotten...

http://www.keepchildrensafe.org/

It musn't just be sheer coincidence that his story always seems to resurface during the same season, Spring. True, he disappeared right before Memorial Day weekend back in '79, yet, the contrast of the tragic and gruesome nature of his case with the beauty and renewal of this time of year manages to add an extra painful sting to his story; much like salt does to an open wound. I was a pre-teen when the news of his disappearance broke in the Spring of 1979 and still I remember just like it was yesterday; the milk cartons and how it changed the mood of an entire city. My heart has never stopped aching for Etan and his family, one look at his cute bright-eyed baby face still manages to shake me to the core. It is why like many of us, I'll never be able to wrap my head around the fact that such an evil exists amongst us, the which, instead of protecting, instinctively harms and kills when it comes face to face with the innocence and purity of a child. Hopefully the latest break in his case will be the last time the Patz family will have to so publicly revisit that fateful day in May of 1979. I would hope that at least some solace has come from realizing that the same city that stood firmly by them during the early days of Etan's disappearance has also never given up on solving the case. It's stories like this one that makes me proud to be a Native New Yorker. 

http://www.keepchildrensafe.org/