The “Stranger Danger” Panic
Marjorie went missing over 40 years before the young son of the host of America’s Most Wanted, John Walsh, was kidnapped from a mall in Florida in 1981. The highly publicized abduction of Adam Walsh fueled the “stranger danger” panic that took over the United States. Every parent became fearful about the whereabouts of their children.
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Government agencies began instituting new safety programs, including taking the fingerprints of children to keep on file just in case they were ever kidnapped in the future. There has been a renewed discussion among parents about the idyllic times when children roamed free, and parents rarely worried. But the Marjorie West case is a reminder that long before the mass media coverage of kidnappings, there were still dangers that frightened parents.