Brooke Sauder (she/her/hers)

What makes a murder or missing person’s case worthy of national attention? The case of Gabby Petito has circulated national news media across different networks, but what was so important about her case? The New York Times states that it is because of internet sleuthing and constant social media updates that made her case become famous. When looking at past national news media cases like Elizabeth Smart, Natalie Holloway, Casey Anthony, and Chris Watts a trend tends to appear. Most of the highly publicized cases are of privileged white people. All cases deserve attention and especially in cases of missing persons that still have the ability to be found alive. In 2019, Alicia Navarro, a 14 year old girl with special needs, had disappeared from her home and has not been seen since. Her mother, Jessica Nunez, has not stopped looking for her daughter and posts on TikTok to find her child and publicize the disappearance. The difference is her case is was not as highly publicized.