Disabled Vietnam Vet Hot Dog Vendor Arrested Outside Met
Stuy Pyro Leaves Notes In Hieroglyphics
Dubai Debt Issues Push Stocks Down
Photos of D Train Murder Depict Bloody Panic
Tenants' Rights Flash Cards!
A naked body found in Inwood Park yesterday may be that of Juilliard student Sarah Fox, who has been missing since last Wednesday. Police believe it was murder, although they are still investigating the area where the woman's body was found; there is a possibility that the woman was sexually assaulted. The medical examiner's office is conducting an autopsy to make a positive ID (although there is a tattoo on the body's back), as well as determine cause of death, leading one of Fox's uncles to say, "We're still hoping it's not her. We still haven't told her mother."
The body was found by one of the hundred volunteers, friends and family members of Fox's, some who traveled from New Jersey to try to help find her. Fox's neighbor called the wooded area where the body was found somewhere "[n]o one would go...at least not of their own volition."
There's been an interesting and thought-provoking debate about whether Fox's disappearance has received extra attention because she is white on a previous post. While there does at times seem to be a disparity, Gothamist thinks that certain things resonate with the media, regardless of color, such as age and circumstance of disappearance, as well as persistence of family members and friends who make efforts to have the story heard (Gothamist was emailed by one of Fox's friends, who requested we post something). However, there are primary obstacles of actually being able to tell the story to a media outlet that we acknowledge may be out of reach for others. But there is also something to be said for simply getting the community together: In this case, Fox's family and friends mobilized to search for her over a few days, which did result in one volunteer finding a body.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
I am sorry to hear this news and hope that Sarah's friends and family find solace from the fact that this young lady clearly made such a profound impact on so many people's lives.
The disparity in media attention that some disappearances receive against others is more of a socioeconomic thing - some people (young college students, friends) are more apt to know how to get certain information across.
sometimes, though, it all comes down to timing and what jen said (the fact that some factors resonate more in the media).
Remember the Matthew Shepard case? One of the things I'll never forget about that is how his formal headshots were what were put out in the media. Even "art shots" of him brooding in the woods. Not many poor people have pro headshots.
It may not be a disappearance, but the Jonbenet Ramsey story illustrates this, as the papers knew people are interested in learning about the whole child pageant scene is like, and how that could somehow be indicted (at least in the court of public opinion) towards having contributed to her death.
I'll never forget one story in The Onion that pointed that media conundrum out, albeit in a sadly humorous way - "Ugly Girl Killed".
It was basically a story that had the same details of the Jonbenet case, only an ugly girl was killed. It said how there was no investigation planned, but the police were quoted as saying "It's too bad." It was great satire to point out a sad media phenomenon.
she isn't white anyways. shes partly hispanic, the reactionary jerks that pin this media attention on race have obviously not seen all the posters up around town - everywhere.
We also received an email from a theater friend, who got it from another colleague, who got it from... you get the idea. Some communities, like the "downtown" theater world, are this big. And now it feels like we lost one of our own.
And I think that's what drives which tragedies get which treatment... there's a connection there. Realistically, there are ethnic and racial and socioeconomic elements to all of that.
What doesn't change is they are all tragedies. They all suck. Sometimes it just sucks worse when its closer to home.
TN
PS: I also checked out that NYPD site. Etan Patz and Sam Todd are still on it, as well as some people from the 70's. It does remind you how much sadness there is in the world, and how little of it makes it onto the six o'clock news.
A close friend of mine just recently went through a missing person's situation. Her boyfriend disappeared in Wyoming and they found his body a month later. She had a difficult time getting media attention paid to his disappearance. It took awhile for his friends & family to grab the attention of the media and it was because they presented his case to them in the right sound bytes. And then...after the body is found...media attention disappears and the answers to how did this happen never really appear anywhere. It's a tragedy all the way around for everyone involved.
Funny, I don't normally spell "tiresome, unhelpful, predictably faux-radical and occasionally offensive" i-n-t-e-r-e-s-t-i-n-g, but perhaps this is a new meaning of the word that I was previously unfamiliar with.
From what I've read, the Fox family doesn't have wealth... they seem to be blue-collar from south Jersey. What Sarah's case did have was a large circle of fast-moving, tech-savvy, obsessed about her friends. Which, in a way, says more about what kind of person Sarah Fox was than any news report.
When I first started hearing about Fox, I didn't think, "Oh, they're just covering her because she's white," but, "Oh, it's good to see they don't feel like they got so burnt on the last college student who went 'missing' that they'd ignore another potential emergency."
I think that the media attention was due just to how mobilized the family and friends were. They went door-to-door over the weekend in Inwood, one of her friends sent me an email because I had pictures of the neighborhood on my website, my roommate's car got flyered, her picture is still all over Inwood. I live about a block from her apartment, and the proximity makes it more immediate for me, I guess, but I really was saddened when I heard her body was found.
Cheers to you Doctor Memory! I thought the same thing, but didn't have the guts to comment.
As an 7-year Inwood resident and daily user of Inwood HIll Park, I am shocked and unnerved by the disappearance and now presumed death of Sarah Fox.
I wondered some of the same questions about how her case was able to get media attention, since I've seen shrines outside buildings in the area where young people have died through violence. But were these 'anonymous' deaths people who had noble ambitions? Perhaps not.
It's just another reminder that many ugly things happen in a big city. Unfortunately, Sarah's death is one of them – and a sad day for our neighborhood.
Doctor Memory, please get off your high-horse. Did I ever say that we should ignore the tragedy of Sarah Fox? Never. Did I say it was sad that she's now dead. Absolutely. It's tragic that someone who is so young and simply went out to run is now dead due to reasons that have not be fully determined but appear to be violent and tragic.
But she's not the only missing person in this city. She will not be the last one. There will be others. And it's tragic that only some people get media attention while other loved ones continue to go missing without a peep from major media.
I walk around Brookly and see missing people fliers up on poles every day. Why are they not focused on in the local mass media? Why should they have to go through a virtual casting gaunlet to get 30 seconds of airtime on local news?
Tim N., she might have been " blue-collar from south Jersey", but her friends and family clearly had access to media that many average people do not. That's a privledge. And congrats to her friends and family for using it to their potential. But it's sad and tragic that only some can have access to such media attention.
Regarding the other missing people officially listed on the NYPD site, I'm blown away by the dumb self-centeredness of people who have been saying "only four of them are from 2004!" as if that's a reason why they are being ignored. Do you realize how stupid you sound? It's not like we're talking about high fashion and trendiness here. We're talking about human beings.
So what if someone there had the misfortune to go missing in 2003, 2002, 2001 and many other "old/uncool" years. You know what that means if someone has been missing since 2001 and STILL missing? That means that for more than 3 years family and friends have had to suffer the grief of their loss. And complete lack of closure.
Sarah Fox went missing for about a week. And now we find she's dead a week later. That's tragic and painful. Imagine how it would feel to have a loved on missing for at least 1,095 days? How would you feel? Seriously, are you people that callous and self-centered?
It's sad that in this modern day and age where communication is easier than it ever was it still takes who you know and what you know to get people out looking for a lost loved one. That's all anyone is saying.
Hold UP. MP, for a while I was really supporting your argument and I still realize the validity of things that you said in the previous post, but what you've just said here is not only extremely hurtful, it's bogus.
Speaking at someone who was very dedicated to finding Sarah, and being best friends with someone else who was and knowing many other people who felt the exact same way, I have to tell you what a bunch of bullshit it is that we "clearly had connections to the media". No. I own a website, I posted the missing person's ad there and through an online journal, and my friends told their friends and their friends told other friends. It worked that way for everyone involved, and when one person tells three other people and so on, it becomes something so large, it can't help but gather media attention.
Not one person involved had "media connections"; the media became involved because they saw how many hundreds of people were so deeply concerned. NO ONE is limited in terms of how they look for a loved one; if someone knows someone who is missing and they are deeply concerned, they should be out telling people, and telling people to tell other people. I do not feel sorry, and I WILL NOT apologize for the attention that this case has gotten, because we created it. People who loved Sarah and wanted her to be safe created it. And to think anything else is ludicrous.
You may accuse people who this hit home to of being "callous" and "self-centered", but you're being short-sighted and heartless. You've admitted that it's sad, but I don't think that you really feel that way. I think you feel that people would pitch a fit if you kept on this track of "but she's white and knew people in the media! so unfair!". I think you should stop spending so much time debating this and if you're so concerned, go out and organize some search parties from some of the "old/uncool" years.
Sure, we found out a week later what happened, but we found out a week later that she was DEAD. I don't think you really understand the gravity of this situation, and I truly feel in writing this that I may be talking to a brick wall, but whatever. This needed to be said. It's so hurtful to know that someone could keep saying things that are obviously removed from the actual situation. Maybe you'd feel differently if it were one of the missing minorities that had been found, since that seems to be your main concern.
"Sure, we found out a week later what happened, but we found out a week later that she was DEAD. I don't think you really understand the gravity of this situation, and I truly feel in writing this that I may be talking to a brick wall, but whatever."
Jenn, my condolences on your loss and how you feel now that Sarah's ultimate fate has been revealed.
Oh, and before you jump all over me about the media connections I mentioned, please go back and reread the original Sarah Fox thread and look at "sarah's classmate" comments on "May 25, 2004 8:12 PM" where she very clearly states: "juilliard has major political and monetary power, and our communications department has vast resources and contacts that it draws upon. "
My assumption is based on that statement. If it's wrong, my apologies. But you did not seem to make an issue of this statement when "sarah's classmate" made this point previously.
But Jenn as a young student you might be too young to realize that for some not knowing the ultimate fate of a loved one can be very painful as well. I'm not saying it's worse, but for some people living with that slow-burn pain of the unknown is tortuous.
Do you actually think it's better if the seach went on for weeks, months and possibly years? Can you imagine if her fate was still unkown over 2-3 years from now and people callously said "She went missing back in 2004. It's 2006. Why should we care?" Do you think you and the rest of Sarahs' friends and family would be in better shape had this search lasted longer?
My condolences on your loss, but I truly do also feel for those who have no closure and no final chapter to the search for their loved ones. Maybe one day you'll fully understand that sometimes not knowing is worse than knowing the ultimate truth.
I've experienced death of my friends and family members. It's all painful. It's all tragic. It all hurts. But I can't imagine the pain of someone who goes missing for 3 years or more and waking up everyday not knowing what has happened.
My condolences on your loss. But at least now you do know what happened and an investigation can happen and justice can be dealt. I'm not saying it's good. It would have been better to find her alive. Please do not take it the wrong way, but at least you have some margin of closure that the families and friends of many other loved ones don't have.
That's all I've ever said. My symapthies in your pain and loss. But all too often when the media focuses on one person who has gone missing, they completely ignore the others who also go missing but might not have the savvy/connections to get the word out. I applaud the fact Sarah's friends were able to grab the media attention, but I am saddened by the others who get no media play at all.
And just to be 100% clear Jenn said:
"Not one person involved had "media connections""
But "sarah's classmate" said:
"juilliard has major political and monetary power, and our communications department has vast resources and contacts that it draws upon."
First, this story is tragic, and I recognize that it is only one of thousands of tragic stories in this city.
MP wrote: "I walk around Brooklyn and see missing people fliers up on poles every day. Why are they not focused on in the local mass media? Why should they have to go through a virtual casting gaunlet to get 30 seconds of airtime on local news?"
This is, I imagine, a question to which you & everyone else already know the answer but prefer to ignore until it affects us personally. With the number of tragic events in this city it would be impossible to give every missing person, every death, every fire, every rape, etc., 30 seconds of airtime unless the news media established a 24-hour channel dedicated to the crimes of the city. And honestly, even if this were done, I doubt that many people could stomach watching such a channel.
The news media works within a limited time slot. My guess is that they choose to air the stories where the most info is made directly available to them. Simply put, an internet post is much more readily available than a sign on a lamppost.
I am really amazed that there's even a controversy--of any kind-- going on in this post. Yecch. And it's all thanks to someone who calls themself "Mizzing Peoplez." Nice. Really nice. The insensitivity factor is off the charts.
MP keeps coming back because he's trolling and folks keep gobbling up his bait. He not even interesting enough to be insesitive. He's just using this space to be the proverbial devil advocate. Like Jenn said, if this individual is so concerned about all the forgotten missing people in NYC, then he may wish to put his energies into helping to find them instead of trying to inflame people.
Stan, I'm really sorry about what has happened to Sarah Fox. But I truly feel sorry for all the other missing people out there who don't get any media attention also. I am saddened that despite all of the technological advances in this world, only a handful of missing people ever get coverage in media outlets.
I think that WHOLE situation is sad. And tragic. But I find it odd how many people have dismissed other missing people without any comment beyond saying something as callous as "Only 4 of them went missing in 2004!" Look, anyone who goes missing is sad and tragic. And the media's decision to focus on ONE person above all others really is sad in it's own way. Did I ever said the media should not have focused on Sarah? Never. But perhaps it's just a statement on the society we live in that some get the privledge of mass media exposure while others are shoved aside due to lack of media savvy.
Serioiusly, anyone who goes missing is a sad situation. And the weird way our media absorbed world picks and chooses what gets focused on is really sad and tragic. All of this technology. Blackberries. IMing on cell-phones. Blogging. Everything. And there are still rifts.
I you have a problem understanding that, my apologies.
"MP keeps coming back because he's trolling and folks keep gobbling up his bait. He not even interesting enough to be insesitive. He's just using this space to be the proverbial devil advocate. Like Jenn said, if this individual is so concerned about all the forgotten missing people in NYC, then he may wish to put his energies into helping to find them instead of trying to inflame people."
coimata, you have a right to your opinion. But if you actually read what I have written you'd realize I have never opposed the efforts of Sarah's family and friends to find her. Never once. I am simply saddened that in this age of quick and easy communications, where TV news programs and reality shows are so pervasive that some missing people get focused on in the media while others are ignored and derided.
coimata, let me ask you this. Have you said one thing in defense of the others who have gone missing? And their families? And the pain they have gone through and continue to go through? Not at all.
I'm simply saying anyone who goes missing is sad. And the media's tendency to focus on one missing person at a time is quite annoying when others go missing.
I have offered my condolences to the friends of Sarah's that have posted. And I sympathize with them. But I also sympathize with others who go missing and get no media attention.
If you can't see how it's all tragic, then my apologies. But your attempts to paint me as someone who is bashing the efforts of Sarah's family and friends are simply false.
As I have said before and I will say again, Sarah Fox's case is sad. And so are the cases of others who go missing.
Your global sympathy for "all" becomes very general and random in the face of something so specifically horrible and sad that happened to "her". Get it? I actually don't fault you as much as I fault the randomness of blogs. It's such a great forum on some days, and on others, insensitivity and missed points and a not-so-great free-for-all reigns.
Pardon me while I sidestep the above conversation, but there's something I don't understand. She's only been missing since Wednesday, but the body is so badly decomposed that they couldn't immediately identify it? I'm no forensic scientist, but that doesn't sound right.
I too am so sorry to hear that is likely Sarah Fox that's been found in the park. I had hoped for an outcome more like the Elizabeth Smart situation.
And, MP: since I believe I was the first “dumb & self-centered” person who commented on the age of the listings in your NYPD link, it was directed to your comment that the media coverage is “imbalanced and unfair”. I opened that link expecting to find dozens and dozens of recent disappearances, with preponderance towards people of color. And thus I thought your original post (5/24 1:49pm) was an irritating in the face of the current tragedy. My comment was to point out a slightly hollow ring in your argument. Like I said…how about men not getting as much coverage as women?
That people go missing or have been missing for so many years is awful. Some people are abducted, some disappear of their own choice – and it’s the family and friends left behind who suffer.
I also think you’re a troll, looking to argue. And one who aims to get the last word. SO, ball in your court.
Sheila, thank you for showing one ounce of sympathy towards others who go missing yet do not get media attention.
MP, you've made your point. You've made it again and again and again and again. (Whether you've made it WELL is another discussion altogether.) You should really learn to gauge when your own words and angry, ill-tempered tone are working against you. Learn when to stop.
Sarah Fox is probably dead. If so, she presumably met her end within walking distance from my apartment and this scares the crap out of me.
This is not about MP and his/her insensitive and ill-timed comments, and enough posting energy has been spent rebutting this person for what is now approaching near-pathalogical behavior. The point's been made, it's a valid point, but it doesn't change the reality of Sarah Fox or any other missing person and now let's please stop responding to this individual.
Instead, take some time to formulate a plan with your loved ones. If you are a woman leaving the house alone in a questionable neighborhood -- sorry fellow Inwoodians, we DO live in an 'iffy' neighborhood despite the natural beauty of the area, that's why the rent's still affordable! -- make sure someone knows where you are going and when you expect to be back. If you're running alone in a secluded area, don't wear headphones that could drown out the sounds of some bad-intentioned person coming up behind you.
I'd hope that anyone would have the resources of Sarah Fox at their disposal in a situation like this, and I'm just sorry that the outpouring of love and support of friends and strangers alike didn't change the end of her story. Thoughts are obviously with this woman and her family and friends in this horrible time.
MP... shut up already. I don't doubt that everyone here thinks it's awful that people go missing every day and our condolences go out to their families. It was an interesting point to bring up about 500 posts ago. We get it. But you've just been dragging it out and shitting on a thread in which this girl's friends are grieving. Yeah yeah you're sad about it, too. We know. Maybe YOU should get off your high horse and take action with all these missing people. Maybe you should be putting up posters all over the city rather than pissing up this thread.
this is a whirling dervish of bullshit. MP deserves no more attention. MP sounds like a member of the media, being so very talented at spinning people's quotes and using their words against them.
i know about the torture that one feels when someone goes missing. for a "short"(never-ending) week, i felt the torture. for a week everyone who dropped everything and did what they could, felt the torture. you know why we dropped everything? so that we didn't have to feel the torture for the rest of our lives. not for one month, one year, one decade. we felt it for a day before we knew that the torture couldn't continue. i'm tortured now for everyone who is still looking, months and years later, for loved ones. nothing is worse than the open-ended. i wish that everyone had the time, energy, and sheer manpower that we had to mount an appropriate search.
we also had the good fortune of information. we knew where she was headed, where she was likely to go, and when she should have come back. it's not like she got on a bus in new york heading to san francisco and just never made it. (i'll look around north dakota. do you know who's searching in new mexico?) we had a contained area and a huge number of volunteers, which gave us hope. when you have a goal and you add hope, we knew that one way or another, dead or alive, the search would have a conclusion.
i love sarah, i will miss her always and think of her daily. one of the best people i've ever had the pleasure of knowing. i loved her when she was quiet, silly, sour, wise, bitchy, lovely, kind...i loved her when we performed together, wrote together, danced and sang together. i loved her when she laughed about pbs kids shows. i loved her when we talked about our dads and their deaths. i loved her when we obsessed about moxy fruvous and the red hot chili peppers. sitting in the hallway was never as much fun with anyone else. i don't say corny, sappy things. trust and know, sarah brought me to this: she will live forever in my heart.
this is a whirling dervish of bullshit. MP deserves no more attention. MP sounds like a member of the media, being so very talented at spinning people's quotes and using their words against them.
i know about the torture that one feels when someone goes missing. for a "short"(never-ending) week, i felt the torture. for a week everyone who dropped everything and did what they could, felt the torture. you know why we dropped everything? so that we didn't have to feel the torture for the rest of our lives. not for one month, one year, one decade. we felt it for a day before we knew that the torture couldn't continue. i'm tortured now for everyone who is still looking, months and years later, for loved ones. nothing is worse than the open-ended. i wish that everyone had the time, energy, and sheer manpower that we had to mount an appropriate search.
we also had the good fortune of information. we knew where she was headed, where she was likely to go, and when she should have come back. it's not like she got on a bus in new york heading to san francisco and just never made it. (i'll look around north dakota. do you know who's searching in new mexico?) we had a contained area and a huge number of volunteers, which gave us hope. when you have a goal and you add hope, we knew that one way or another, dead or alive, the search would have a conclusion.
i love sarah, i will miss her always and think of her daily. one of the best people i've ever had the pleasure of knowing. i loved her when she was quiet, silly, sour, wise, bitchy, lovely, kind...i loved her when we performed together, wrote together, danced and sang together. i loved her when she laughed about pbs kids shows. i loved her when we talked about our dads and their deaths. i loved her when we obsessed about moxy fruvous and the red hot chili peppers. sitting in the hallway was never as much fun with anyone else. i don't say corny, sappy things. trust and know, sarah brought me to this: she will live forever in my heart.
it's even better the second time you read it. sorry about that. the cat hit the spacebar while i was up getting a cigarette and some tissues.
All i have to say is that this is tragic and very sad. I remember Sarah from school, but I never talked to her. I never met her. It just reminds me of how fragile life is. My heart goes out to all of her friends and family and to anyone else who has ever lost a loved one.
MP, i think everyone realizes this hidden issue. It is sad that many others have gone missing and don't receive media coverage. Part of the reason why this case received coverage is the obvious reason that she is a student from a school with "major political and monetary power". I received an email from school about it, but I also received a note on my friendster account as well as hearing about it through word of mouth and I passed the news around to people I knew. In this case, the word got around because of our school and because there were huge efforts made by all of her friends and family, and even by people who didn't personallly know her, like myself. I didn't know her but I helped spread the word around. If any of the other missing people was a student at Juilliard, regardless of sex age or gender, it would receive the same media attention.
In response to this comment by jd, from May 26th:
"she isn't white anyways. shes partly hispanic, the reactionary jerks that pin this media attention on race have obviously not seen all the posters up around town - everywhere."
I want to point out that saying someone is Hispanic is just like saying someone is "American" -- People labeled as "Hispanics" can be of European, African or native American extraction, or any combination of these ethnicities. Just like any other (United States of) American. This whole concept of "race" can be very misleading, and too often destructive.
It is very painful to hear of such horrible tragedies as this. Mere words can't really help, but my sincerest best wishes go out to Ms. Fox's family and many friends. Sarah Fox was obviously an exceptional person.