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Marc Klaas: Stranger Abduction Arrest Extremely Rare

KlaasKids Foundation founder says solving a stranger abduction is the hardest thing to do, yet investigators in the Sierra LaMar case appear to have pulled it off.

Investigators involved in , the 21-year-old Morgan Hill man , have pulled off something quite remarkable, according to Marc Klaas, founder of the KlaasKids Foundation.

"They nailed a guy in a stranger abduction," he said. "That is one of the hardest things to do. I may quibble here and there with the way they released information publically, but you cannot fault a successful investigation on a stranger abduction."

Klaas, whose 12-year-old daughter, Polly, was the victim of abduction, rape and murder, said that there have been many stranger abductions in the Bay Area over the years.

"Hardly any of them have ever been solved," he said. "The fact that they solved this case is a huge achievement."

Although authorities said that they believed Sierra , Klaas said he doesn't think investigators were providing the public with false hope.

"They knew that people needed to be looking for Sierra alive," he said. "If you say that you are looking for someone's remains, that deflates the family, deflates any volunteer force you have and probably drives the media away. What they did was exactly right."

Klaas said that volunteer searches will resume at his foundation's command center at Burnett Elementary School at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning.

"We have every intention of helping authorities locate Sierra," he said. "We have every intention of continuing to look for her until she's located. To that end, we intend to keep looking for her until her remains are found."

Besides bringing Sierra home to her family, Klaas said that finding her will be an integral part of prosecuting Garcia-Torres.

"Currently, the killer has a bargaining chip, and we want to remove that from him," he said. "We need to be able to fast track this SOB straight to hell. No passing 'Go.' No collecting $200."

Those interested in volunteering for searches, May 23, can register at Burnett Elementary School, located at 85 Tilton Avenue in Morgan Hill. Registration will be open from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.

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Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
A Chinese-American couple will dress just like their mainstream American counterparts at the wedding.
Crystal Tai May 1, 2011 at 06:28 pm
Thank you very much for you kind words, Priyanka! The answer to your question is in another articleRead More I wrote for Cupertino Patch, "Five Wedding Reception Venues in Cupertino." Thanks again!
Priyanka Sharma-Sindhar April 27, 2011 at 08:21 pm
This is definitely very useful for the those of us who aren't Chinese, but do have Chinese friends..Read More Thank you, Crystal. What are the popular spots in Cupertino for Chinese weddings?
Anne Ernst (Editor) April 3, 2013 at 12:59 pm
It's difficult to know what's going on in a kid's mind unless they feel confident enough to open upRead More and talk. And this program helps us adults to learn to listen differently.
Debbie Reiley April 3, 2013 at 03:50 am
I too was at this Challenge Day. It was my 6th. I first volunteered because I watched the programRead More on MTV "If You Really Knew Me" when my son was being severely bullied in middle school and saw the program was offered when he was a freshman in high school. My company strongly supports me volunteering for this and allows me to take the day off work to attend. I am continually humbled by what these teens share and saddened at what some of them have experienced in their short lives. This program is so valuable. I think every school should offer it and every parent should attend. It helps us to realize that we need to think twice before we judge or assume things about others when we know nothing about them. It is the volunteering opportunity that I look forward to participating in every year.
Anne Ernst (Editor) March 30, 2013 at 06:30 am
Carrie, Thanks for allowing me to be a part of it again.
Janice Chua March 28, 2013 at 06:45 pm
It was fun hosting you all at Bitter+Sweet, Anne!
Loy Oppus-Moe March 28, 2013 at 02:40 pm
A big "Thank You" to Anne, Pete, and 53 other professionals who opened up their companiesRead More and organizations to give our students hands-on experience of what life might look like for them post-high school. Job Shadowing brings relevance to education!