(NewsNation) — Memphis has a crime problem, and heiress Eliza FletcherThe removal of draws attention to the alarming trend.
This year alone, there have been as many as 100 kidnappings in Memphis. Fortunately, few have ended the way Fletcher’s case did.
However, the terrible reality of the discovery of the kindergarten teacher’s body on Monday did not sit well with local residents.
Other abductions have taken place without making national headlines like Fletcher’s.
Last week, a mother and her 1-year-old child were taken away by two men spotted on Target surveillance cameras.
They were forced to withdraw $800 from an ATM before being released. A man was arrested on Tuesday; the other is still on the run.
And last week a father stopping to help a man involved in an accident was the victim of a carjacking, with his children aged 2, 5 and 6 still inside. The children were released a few blocks away, but this suspect is also still at large.
Earlier this year, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland pledged to tackle violent crime.
“Trying to get tougher sentences for violent crimes so that people who shoot people and break into homes don’t get away with jail time. It takes all of those things… the help of state, county help, parent help,” Strickland said.
Strickland is also trying to hire hundreds of police officers, using incentives including a $1,500 signing bonus.
“We just need to have a sense of urgency to address this and bring these numbers down,” said Bill Gibbons, chairman of the Memphis Crime Commission.
Meanwhile, a debate rages on social media over access to crime-fighting tools.
Some point out that black victims rarely receive attention from a white teacher. For example, three years ago, 41-year-old Memphis nurse Taquila Hayes disappeared.
Her husband was charged with second degree murder, but Hayes was never found.
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